# *Assisted conception ladies due Jan/Feb/March 2017*



## Fern81

Calling all lovely ladies who went through the hard journey of assisted conception! Feel free to join this thread so that we can all compare symptoms, chat about pregnancy and non-pregnancy related issues, even complain a bit about our husbands/partners if we need! :winkwink:

I'm Fern, I've been struggling with ttc for many years due to severe endometriosis. We finally got our very first BFP on Friday 27 May; we were very fortunate to be successful with our first round of IVF. It's still early days and we are waiting to see if there's a heartbeat before we tell most of our friends and family (our close family members and best friends already know). However, I've chosen to embrace this pregnancy for as long as it lasts and if all goes well, my due date is 3 Feb 2017.

Hope to see many others join! :flower:

*Members' Due Dates:

*Froggyfrog: 25 January 2017 
Gage Matthew born 24 January 2017 

*Myshelsong:  Sleep well little Blue 

*Fern81: 03 February 2017 
Baby G born 24 January 2017

*Pinkie3: 05 February 2017 
Baby boy born 1 February 2017 

*Rq120: 05 February 2017  
Oliver and Claire born 9 January 2017 

*Praying4no1: 06 February 2017 

*Rebecca822: 10 February 2017   Joe and Alisa born 7 December 2016 

*2Have4kids: 16 February 2017  
Teagan Cora and Piper Brenna born 11 January 2017 

*Beemeck: 23 February 2017 
 Rani born 2 March 2017 

*Crazydoglady: February 2017  

*Nimbec: 15 March 2017 
Hugo born 23 February 2017 

*Elliecain: 17 March 2017 
 Finlo Henry born 16 February 2017 

*ES89: 25 March 2017 
 Arya Kimberly born April 2017 *


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## Myshelsong

Fern Congratulations! So excited for you.

My quick story, we have been LTTTC for 5 years, npnt for a few years before that. We were classified and unexplained for 4.5 years until the last Dr confirmed hubby had bad fragmentation issues as well as low number, motility and high normal forms. After 6 IUIs we moved to IVF in May and crazy enough we got out first BFP ever May 23. I am completely freaking out. Have told no one but my cousin, who has been on our side the whole time. 

We are also waiting to tell parents and others until after we see a heartbeat. Part of me wants to wait until we are at least four months before we start talking, but I know that won't work. Especially in the summer and swimming with family, but I a terrified the more that know will end up jinxing this. I know crazy, but I have never been pregnant so I am just praying that we don't lose this miracle.


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## froggyfrog

Hello! I'm here! We were ttc for 6 years, after two years went to see an RE. After dhs SA I think they kind of gave up on testing me thinking they find our issue. His count was 1 million. He had varricocelle repair, and was retested 3 months later only to find out that didn't work. Then he was put on cloud for 6 months, and that didn't work at all either. She went on to recommend we do iuis. Our first was umedicated. Went in for day 21 test and I didn't even ovulate. Should have been a clue, but I didn't know any better! Next two I was on femara, and both bfns. We took a year off from assisted conception, and tried at home. Then we met our lovely new dr. She immediately diagnosed me with PCOS, and figured out that my thyroid was off. I was very upset that we had spent so much money at our last dr, and nobody caught those two things. Meanwhile dhs count has now lowered to 100,000. Our first if with icsi ended in a freeze all because I was borderline ohss. So we had an FET in march that ended in BFN. We decided to stim again for a fresh cycle but this time not go as long to keep ohss at bay. PCOS woman are at higher risk for ohss. We did our fresh transfer on may 9th, I got my for sure, first ever bfp on may 16th, and confirmed by beta on may 19th, and 2nd one on may 24th! We had so many people know what we were going through and rooting us on because we were very open about it all. I have already told a lot of people. I figured I want to celebrate the fact I am pregnant right now, and if something happens I know I'll have a lot of support. Super long post. Sorry


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## Rq120

Checking in! Good to see you lovely ladies here &#55357;&#56832;


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## Fern81

Hi everyone! So awesome to be going through this with you all. 
Have you downloaded any pregnancy apps? I went crazy and got 4 lol. 
Also started with a pregnancy-specific easy workout today. I've pretty much only been walking and definitely don't want to get overweight or totally unfit. Any exercise tips? Xx


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## Fern81

By the way check out this thread. A lady on another thread that I'm following, posted the link. I laughed so hard last night I had tears in my eyes; and am only halfway through all the posts. Can't wait till we have some stories to post on there!

https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/labour-birth/696911-funny-embarrasing-labour-stories-newpost.html


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## tulip11

Hi 
Can I join in ? As currently I am on IVF stims and at end of this month will have hubby M TESE n egg retrieval. I know I am not pregnant yet its still loads of steps to cross but i would love to see you all who got BFP after hard journey.
Congratulations to all of you and may you all have healthy and safe pregnancies.


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## Prayingforno1

Hi everyone I am jumping right in here. We've been ttc for 5 years. We tried IVF in September but cycle was cancelled due to no mature eggs retrieved. Well we gave it another try in May and today 14dpt I got my very first BFP. I was so shocked and did 3 tests in total. I know it is still really early but I can't help but be excited. My first BFP in 5 years ttc.


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## Rq120

My story. We have only been TTC for 15 months, however it has been a trying 15 months! I have endometriosis and even though I only have stage 1-2, I'm one of those who has severe pain despite the staging. I was off birth control for a year before TTC and by the time we started TTC I was already having pain that required pain medication. My OB said to try naturally for 6 months and then she would refer me to a RE. First appt with RE was in Oct 2015 and by then I was experiencing pain at least 12 days out of the month with 1-2 days being very severe requiring massive amounts of pain meds (8+ Vicodin a day) and all-day heating pad and bed rest. The RE immediately scheduled me for a lap to improve my symptoms. I had symptom relief for 2-3 months after the surgery until reoccurrence. During these months Hubby and I tried 1 natural cycle, 1 timed intercourse cycle w/ femara, and 1 IUI w/ femara and injectables. By month 3 pain, was returning and was severe again. RE said we could try another IUI w/ a 10% chance or move onto IVF. He said w/ fresh cycle and FET his success rates were 80%. Since I couldn't stand to try another IUI cycle due to the pain, Hubby and I moved to IVF. Our IVF cycle didn't quite goes as planned (only retrieved 3 eggs with 10 follies), but we were very blessed that they all grew to 5 day blasts. We transferred 2 blasts on May 20th and we received a BFP with our first IVF on May 25th! Betas are strong and we are (im)patiently waiting our first US on June 27th. 
EDD is Feb 5th. This will be our first child.

I love forward to sharing my journey with you lovely ladies.


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies!

Can't believe I'm joining here too!

We've been TTC about 2 years now. Since we have a healthy child I knew something was wrong after a year and me not being pregnant. We got ourselves checked out and it turns out that DH has severe MF. 
We did an iui which was a waste of time and then in September/October we did IVF/ICSI.
I got pregnant but lost the baby at 9 weeks :(
We switched doctors around January time and we did an FET and transferred 2 great embryos.
I got my first bfp 6dp5dt. Today is 8dp5dy and tomorrow will be my first beta!
Can't wait to spend the next 8-9 months with you lovely ladies!


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## Fern81

Everyone is so welcome! So happy to have you all here. I just know we are going to become great friends during the next 8-9 months and beyond :).

Tulip- and I love the attitude that you are joining already. I hope your bfp is just around the corner.

I only have experience with endometriosis. ... but wow we have all been through many tough months/years. Reading through everyone's stories I just want to say a hard-won congratulations to everyone!! 

Anyone getting girl/boy vibes yet? Well, except for you froggy &#9825;!


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## rebecca822

Fern- I'm getting twin vibes! I'll be so disappointed if it's a singleton :(

Suggestion- can you update the first page with everyone's EDD?


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## Fern81

Yes I can! Everyone kindly send me your edd and I will put it on the front page x


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## froggyfrog

January 25th!


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## Rq120

Office called and my second beta was 971 and we scheduled my ultrasound for 6/16!! I thought I was going to have to wait until 6/27 so I'm happy that it is going to be earlier than that.


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## Prayingforno1

My EDD is February 6th. I go in for first beta on Monday and I can't wait.


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## froggyfrog

I'm so glad you don't have to wait for the 27th rq!! The wait for the ultrasound is imo worse than waiting for beta! I'm going crazy waiting for next Wednesday when I can see this little guy!


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## froggyfrog

Praying, I think we might have been in a thread together. I'm not sure. Maybe someone with a name close to yours.


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## rebecca822

Edd is feb 10


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog said:


> Praying, I think we might have been in a thread together. I'm not sure. Maybe someone with a name close to yours.

I've been knocking around these boards for a while so it may be me:). This IVF cycle I actually stayed away from the boards to try and keep myself sane and as calm as possible. My posts today are actually my first since my cancelled IVF cycle in September.

I am so excited to have you ladies here and get to know everyone a bot better as we get fat (in my case fatter :)) together.


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## Rq120

Lol Praying. I was hoping to start this cycle at a smaller size, but 6 months of fertility has added 20 lbs even before the BFP. I'm focusing on eating smaller meals so I'm not as bloated.


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## rebecca822

Rq- I actually lost 23 pounds since my miscarriage because I really didn't want to start a pregnancy overweight. Im so happy that I'm finally at a normal bmi and I look good! 
My first ultrasound will probably be in 1-2 weeks, I guess I'll know more tomorrow after my beta.


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## boopin4baby

Hello Ladies :hugs:

Do you have room for 1 more?? I'm due February 7, 2017. I suffered a mc a few months ago and I'm struggling to find happiness with this pregnancy. I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm hoping & praying these little beans stick around for 8 more months!! I could really use your support and would love to support all of you, too. Congrats to ALL!!


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## Fern81

Welcome boopin! Hope your baby/babies (well, everyone's!!) stick like crazy. X

I also lost some weight this year (about 13lb) after starting a paleo-style/anti-inflammatory diet to help with my endo.... I was just so fed up and decided to be either thin& fit or pregnant&huge in December (our summer holiday) lol! Atm I'm struggling a bit with exercising because I'm super busy at work and tired, I've also been eating a lot more than usual because I'm constantly hungry lol... it hit me hard yesterday that if I continue down this road I'm going to become wayyyy overweight again. Trying to find the motivation to get up and go for a walk lol. Of course I want to have heaps of toast and gummy sweets for breakfast!! 
What types of exercise are you ladies currently doing? I really need to do more. Atm I walk for about 30min 3-4 times a week and started some light arm weights again yesterday, also some rotational squats while holding my exercise ball & pregancy core exercises. 

Will start adding everyone's due dates later today. I will also put team yellow/blue/pink (for those of us who want to find out) as well as singletons/twinnies.... will be interesting to see how many pairs of twins we have :)


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## Myshelsong

Over the last 5 years I put on 50!!! I am not proud at all, but I went Paleo after Christmas and knocked some off before I started the last two IUIs then IVF so have been a hormone queen since New Years and have maintained my loss. 
Just wondering what pregnancy fitness app have you downloaded? I want to download one, but can't find one


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## rebecca822

Fern- your exercise regiment sounds a lot better than mine. I'm doing nothing. I need to start something because I'm so out of shape!
I had my beta done this morning, can't wait for the doctor to call with the results!


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## froggyfrog

I started yoga back up this morning, but need to get a pregnancy yoga dvd. There are a lot of things I won't be able to do for very much longer. I have also gained a whole bunch of weight during this process. And I want to try not to gain very much during my pregnancy


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## Fern81

OK I edited the first page with everyone's due dates (Myshel is yours correct?). If your dates change due to scan sizing etc just update me :). I've put team yellow for everyone except Froggy; once you find out the gender I'll change that too. Lots of babies due all at once. :)

Myshel I didn't download pregnancy exercise apps, just general pregnancy apps (oviapregnancy, glownurture, the bump, Preg&baby). I got some exercises from a site called "knockedup fitness". A pregnancy fitness app would actually be nice.

Rebecca - update us with your beta!

I can't wait till your first u/s Froggy. First of all of us! 

Well I worried a bit this morning because I haven't been having any symptoms for a few days... it's back with a vengeance lol! Lots of heartburn, nausea, some cramps, tired and super emotional. 17 more sleeps before we hopefully see a heartbeat.


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## Prayingforno1

For the ladies who did IVF are you still bloated? I wonder when my bloat will subside. I look at least 3 months pregnant and find myself struggling to find tops in my closet that are loose and will hide it. I've been drinking lots of water not sure what else I should do.


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## Rq120

Praying, I think the bloat is from pregnancy and not the IVF?? I actually wasn't bloated much until after my BFP and now I'm up a pants size!! if you look on other boards there are a lot of other women that have the same complaints that didn't do IVF.


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## Rq120

As for exercise, I'm walking almost everyday for 30mins, trying to do some strength training (even if it is only 15 mins!) 2 times a week and I want to start doing pregnancy yoga videos 2-3 times per week. There are a lot to be found on you tube!


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## Myshelsong

If it is crazy bloat it could be OHSS, but I know I was bloated for the first few weeks of pregnancy. But it has gone down a little bit since then.

I downloaded the What to expect app. It is pretty neat, but I will look at those other ones too!

Ok i have used multiple calculators and it looks like it will be Jan 28. What site did you guys use to date it? I know the IVF transfers are different than normal conception. I went to IVF .com I think.


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## Prayingforno1

Oh ok I didnt realize bloat may be normal in early pregnancy but it may be OHSS as well although i had alot of follicles there were many that were not mature. I'll wait and see what happens in the coming days, thanks guys.

Myshelsong-I didn't use a calculator for expected due date, my clinic actually gave me the date so sorry I can't help there.


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## Fern81

I found that since starting progesterone I've had lots of bloating. Eating flour/refined foods makes it worse for me. I look about 3 months along already :) luckily it's winter here.

Wow good job on all the exercising rq!

Myshel I've also used a few different sites to calculate my edd. I think the most recent site I used was yourivfjourney.com ... have updated your edd on the front page :). Ooooohhh now I want to download that app too!


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## froggyfrog

Praying I'm really bloated as well. I was doing some reading, and it sounds like the progesterone is the culprit.


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog-how did you find out you are having a boy so early?


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## froggyfrog

We genetically tested our embryos. We have 5 girls and 2 boys still frozen.


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## Prayingforno1

Nice you can start shopping/decorating even earlier :)


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## Myshelsong

I downloaded a couple more apps, but so far I love the what to expect one. Their website is pretty good too. I even got hubs reading the dads section lol.
So I am officially starting to feel nauseous... It is about an hour after lunch, super tired and nauseous. Not sure if I am excited, or annoyed already.


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## Fern81

Congrats on ms myshel, lol I hope it's not too hard on you! I'm wishing for some ms or some sign that I am actually pregnant (felt a bit "off yesterday afternoon but that could have been anything") so my dad burst out laughing and said be careful what you wish for! Hope you are feeling a bit better today and can get some REST this weekend.

How is everyone else feeling? Hope you all have a lovely weekend. xx


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## Rq120

Have to run some errands today and while we are out I'm going to stop by craft store and pick up materials for these boxes using this necklace instead of the brown peanut in the pic. If all goes well at the US in a week and 1/2 we will tell parents.
 



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## Rq120

Well poo, it only allows you to attach one pic. That was a pic of the necklace, here is the box.
 



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## froggyfrog

That's a cute way to tell your family rq!! $


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## Myshelsong

I love that idea! Super cute &#128512;


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## Fern81

That's an awesome idea rq! 

I just blurted out the news of my second beta over the phone to my dh and close family. Boring! 

Does anyone else have a cute story of how they broke the news? Or, oohh a gender reveal idea? :)


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## Prayingforno1

That is really cute Rq. Apart from a good friend of ours (the only one who knows we were doing IVF), we haven't told anyone our great news but I will be peeping in to steal your ideas :)


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## froggyfrog

This is our gender announcement. And name announcement. I was going to do a gender reveal party, but I didn't have patience, and it was hard to schedule a time that I could get everyone in one place this summer! So I grabbed a pair of shoes we already have, had dh hold one, and I held the other, then just played with the editing


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## Prayingforno1

awww that's cute froggy everyone is going to love that and it's a nice keepsake you can even get printed on a plaque, fridge magnet etc.


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## Rq120

I'll take pics of our boxes when we are finished but we found wooden boxes that we are going to stain and glue flowers on.

I'm doing boxes for my mom, DH mom, sister in law, and my best friend (because she is going to be an "aunt"


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## rebecca822

Rq I love you idea!

Froggy- when do you plan on sending out the announcements?

Since I had my miscarriage I don't plan on telling anyone until 12 weeks. At 12 weeks I'll tell parents/in-laws. 
Everyone else can wait till 16-20 weeks. I too afraid to tell people earlier


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## froggyfrog

I'm not waiting. I'll have my ultrasound this week and then I'll know on my heart everything is good. Since he was genetically tested our chances of miscarriage are way low, so I feel good about him sticking around.


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## Fern81

We told our close families (inlaws, brothers and sister, a few of my cousins who are like sisters to me) and our bffs. They knew we were doing ivf (we were quite open with needing fibancial support etc; we asked for small donations instead of birthday gifts) so they kept enquiring how the process was going. I made sure to tell them all that we haven't seen a heartbeat so we are being cautious. Sheesh but news spreads fast. My husband keeps blabbing to everyone. His boss started telling the parents of all the kids my husband coaches. Yesterday he was on the phone to this old lady who works at his tennis club and I heard him starting to say "yeah we've got good news"... so I jumped up and shushed him otherwise she would have told the whole tennis club. If there is no heartbeat he gets to tell about 100 people about it. 
We were planning on telling a few more people after the first u/s (after a heartbeat is seen/heard on 8 weeks the chances of mc drops to 5%) but I think the whole city is going to know before then! 

I definitely want to do a cute gender reveal though and see the looks on my family's faces :) maybe a cake.

Love that you get to reveal the gender and name already froggy :)


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## Myshelsong

I love all the announcement ideas and how you guys are so over joyed you are telling people already. Super fun and excited for you all. 
We have told 2 people but that is about it, my cousin and best friend (who lives in florida so she isnt telling anyone). I dont want to tell anyone until 12 weeks or more, but hubs wants to tell his parents since they are both really sick right now. I guess he wants to give good news in the middle of the bad, but I really dont want to let them know until we see a heart beat. I dont want to be pessimistic but after five years of trying I cant help it but feel this still isnt real. 
Does anyone else feel like that? I know it is because we were LTTTCers - like i convinced myself that i would never be pregnant and we were on the adoption route before we decided to give IVF a go. Hell we are "adopt ready" already in ontario as of March lol. I am so excited but terrified at the same time, I just dont know how to feel one without the other.


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## Fern81

Omw yes I don't feel like it's real either! After so many years and so many disappointments I guess it's completely natural. Today at my parents' everyone kept making a fuss about me and I kept cringing and feeling like I lied to them when I told them I'm pregnant! 
I'm sure we'll feel better after the first ultrasound. Xx


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## Prayingforno1

I feel similar to you Myshelsong. I didn't take my hpt until 14dpt and when I got a positive I went ahead and took 2 others as I couldn't believe after all this time I was finally seeing a BFP of my very own. We have told 1 person-the only person who knows we were doing IVF and really encouraged us through our ups and downs.

My plan at the moment is to wait until 12 weeks. Hopefully I can hold out :). In the meantime I've been window shopping for baby gear online, googling what to eat, what not to eat etc.


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## Fern81

I just have to share this; I'm still chuckling & have been crying with laughter all day. First of many hilarious tmi posts I hope!
So you know that I've downloaded FIVE pregnancy apps! and keep sending my husband pictures of what baby looks like on 5weeks, etc. Turns out he couldn't view the pictures and articles that I kept sending from the apps unless he had the app downloaded for himself too. After much convincing he finally downloaded the Glow pregnancy app and tried to register as my partner, EPIC FAIL! 
Firstly, for some reason he got registered as still "trying to conceive" so not only can he not view the pregnancy pics and follow our embie's development, but the app keeps asking him to log his sperm health data e.g how much he is exercising, intercourse data, even if he has masturbated (all of which he dilligently logged lmao WHAT did he think does it have to do with my pregnancy progress!!??) That already got me laughing hysterically. 
Next thing he walks into the kitchen, very upset and says "I can't do this anymore!!". Turns out after struggling to view the pics I kept sending, he went onto the community forum to try and search for them, only to be greeted with a post from a woman announcing: "I am so annoyed that I was born with fat vagina lips"......!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say he has deleted the app after trying SO HARD to be the supportive, modern enlightened husband!! 

I literally bent double laughing and had tears streaming down my face. Have been laughing about it all day. Boy was he upset...!


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## rebecca822

Fern that's pretty funny. I wish my husband would be involved. He's too afraid to believe it's true so he's kind of in denial about the pregnancy. It's upsetting because he's the only person I have to share this with.


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## Rq120

Here is a pic of my finished "announcement" boxes. I can't wait to give my mother-in-law hers, she has no idea I'm pregnant.
 



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## froggyfrog

Lol!!!! Fern that's hilarious! !!

Rq those are so adorable! I love them!


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## Prayingforno1

Rq-I love those they are adorable

Hi all so I went in this morning to do my first beta. Praying my numbers look good. She said the results wouldn't take long so I hope they don't have me on edge all day waiting to hear back from them. Fingers crossed my first beta numbers are great.


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## froggyfrog

Had my first scan today! We got to hear his heartbeat! Everything looks good!


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## Prayingforno1

Congrats froggyfrog I am sure that was an absolutely amazing experience. I think I may actually cry when I hear our little one's heart beat (yes I'm sappy lol)


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## froggyfrog

I did cry! It was so amazing!


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## Rq120

Congrats Froggy. Mine is next Thursday. How many embryos did you transfer?


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## froggyfrog

We only transfered one. My appointment was supposed to be on Wednesday, but dh got off of work today Soni called to see if they could squeeze us in this morning! I'm so glad we got it done!


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## Prayingforno1

Hey guys got my beta results back and hcg was 2,918.08 and progesterone of 27.85. I repeat the bloodwork on Wednesday and cannot even fully express how happy I am.


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## froggyfrog

Holy crap that's a high beta! What dpt are you?


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## Prayingforno1

My transfer was May 19th so I am 18dpt. We transferred 2 so maybe both are nestled in? The nurse said my dr would confirm 1 or 2 with ultrasound which we will set up after I get my next blood results.


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## froggyfrog

I bet you have twins!


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## Prayingforno1

We have been ttc so long the thought of twins always sounded like such a great thing to have now that it is an actual possibility I am so nervous but feel so blessed to be where I am today.


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## Fern81

Wow congrats Froggy with an amazing scan!!! So glad everything is as it should be :) I bet it's feeling much more real now!

And Praying wow that is a super beta. I'm guessing twinnies for you, rq and rebecca with all of your high betas. Congrats!!

Well I bought my first little baby outfit today, totally putting the cart before the horses I know!! But it was just too cute. I'm loving all the gender neutral stuff.


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## Prayingforno1

Fern I have a storage bin with baby stuff I've purchased over the past year or 2 :haha: you are definitely not putting the cart before the horse


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## Rq120

Congrats praying!

I was just telling hubby that we need to start hitting up garage sales during this summer to start stocking up on baby stuff.


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## rebecca822

Froggie- that's amazing I'm sure the heartbeat made it feel so real.

Praying- that does sound super high!

Fern- I'm way too nervous to buy anything yet for the baby/babies (?). I've been burned too many times before in trying so hard to not get too excited.

Afm- Wednesday morning is my repeat beta and if all looks good us will be Tuesday.


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## Prayingforno1

GL tomorrow rebecca and yey for us on Tuesday. My repeat beta is tomorrow as well-so excited/nervous/anxious.


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## Fern81

GL for both your betas praying and rebecca! Fx; can't wait to see how fast those huge numbers of yours have doubled :).

Uhhh I had such a sucky day! I just felt overwhelmed and anxious and non-pregnant... then made the mistake of testing with a crappy cheap test which had really light test lines show up. Fast forward to me panicking, phoning my doctor's rooms and thinking it was all over.... I ended up taking a clearblue weeks estimator test and at least got a 3+ which made me feel a lot better. This was the LAST time I tested!! Why do we make it so difficult for ourselves :/.

Does anyone else have no/very little symptoms??


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## froggyfrog

Symptoms for me have hit full force. I definitely feel pregnant. I'm sorry you had a freak out fern. I didn't have very many consistent symptoms until day before yesterday At 6+4. So try not to worry


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## Rq120

I don't have many symptoms Fern. I did have a little food adversition at dinner, but nothing major.


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## rebecca822

Today was the first day I felt pregnant. Super naseous today and I'm barely 5 weeks. 
Hoping nausea won't hit full force yet.

Froggie, what kind of symptoms do you have?


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## Prayingforno1

Apart from being extremely tired no other symptoms for me. I did feel a bit nauseous 2 days after eating lunch last week but I am still very early along. 

Froggy-sorry you've been hit full force by the symptoms. I read online that ginger helps with nausea. Maybe you can try getting some ginger candies or tea to see if that helps give you some relief.


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## rebecca822

Praying- since I've been pregnant before I know that I get hit really bad with nausea. With my daughter I was naseous until the moment she was born.
It's going to be a very fun 8 months..


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## Prayingforno1

Aww man so sorry to hear that Rebecca, nauseous the full pregnancy I can imagine is no fun.


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## Myshelsong

I have little to no symptoms anymore. Except peeing at night, but that could be the progesterone.
Boobs are minimally sensitive, they were bad for a bit but have cooled off... Nausea was only for a couple days and now I feel normal again. 
I have my scan today but am terrified they are going to find nothing at all. I know I am suppose to remain positive but I just don't know how lol.
only a few hours to go though so that is at least something. 

your ultrasound looks so good, i was jelous we were suppose to have it on the same day!!!


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## froggyfrog

I know myshel! I'm sorry! Dh just had such a slow day on Monday it made more sense for him to take off the rest of the day. 

Rebecca, I hope your nausea cools down and isn't here to stay doe the whole pregnancy! 

My symptoms: I pee on average 4 times a night, I'm exhausted 24/7, I have horrible heartburn no matter what I eat, and the nausea has definitely hit. If I don't eat soon enough I'm doomed for the whole day, the nausea doesn't go away. I gag over EVERYTHING. Brushing my teeth, sights, and smells. And when I over do it, I get dizzy and have to sit down. It took me all day to clean the house because I kept having to sit down.


----------



## froggyfrog

I can't believe I'm 7 weeks pregnant already! I was 3+4 when I got my bfp!


----------



## Rq120

My symptoms come and go which I haven't been stressing about until now. LOL.
I was super tired last week but I have been feeling pretty good this week. My heartburn has lessened, but that comes and goes. Boobs are still sore. I haven't even given it a second thought until today. I also have cramping that comes and goes, but no spotting so I haven't been worried.

I think I am reacting to the PIO shots. I have patches of rash on my bottom where I take the PIO shots or just below. The itching is driving me nuts. I started putting steroid cream on them and if they don't go away by next week I am going to have to discuss with my doc. I figured if they are still there next week then it has to be the PIO shots.

My hubby has been giving me the shots and I realized yesterday that I'm out of town next Tuesday night and will have to give myself the shot. Suck! It will be interesting just because I haven't been doing it so I will have to contort myself and all that. 

My US is next Thursday and I'm really looking forward to it because I'm eager to find out if it is a singleton (and healthy of course). Does anyone have a plan for transitioning to their OB? I only ask because I'm dropping my old OB and will be starting with a new one. I have a referral from a friend so I'll prob go with this OB, but I'm wondering two things.
1. Should I get in to see her to meet her, or just wait until I'm released and referred by my RE
2. Since this is my first pregnancy, am I missing anything by not have early OB appts with an OB (vs RE). For example, am I missing important paperwork or advice that I would get with a first appt with an OB. Will my OB effectively discuss early testing options, etc. 
I guess I could wait to see how my US appt goes? I have also thought about calling the new ob's office and asking for their guidance. Any advice would be appreciated.


----------



## froggyfrog

Rq, I would just call your new ob and ask what they prefer. They may have a system set for re patients. I called my ob yesterday and did just that. My RE does a 7 weeks, 9 week, and 11 week ultrasound. Then I'm released. So I made an appointment for week 12 just for blood work and paperwork and all of that fun stuff. I'm not even seeing the Dr that day, but a midwife there in the office.


----------



## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog said:


> I can't believe I'm 7 weeks pregnant already! I was 3+4 when I got my bfp!

Wow time is flying-congrats!!


----------



## Myshelsong

Ok just got back and we have a baby!! Or a bean, but super excited. Heart beat is 119 and we are officially 6+1 which is now from the dr. Was unsure with IVF and what they thought I was so very very excited. No picture but I do not care at all.
Phew!!
I have no idea about a OB. We ar getting a referral now that pregnancy is confirmed and transfered back to our family dr until. I can request to go back to the infertility specialist but it is a hour drive in traffic to get there, so thinking might find one closer to home.


----------



## froggyfrog

Congrats myshel!!!! Isn't it such a relief?


----------



## Prayingforno1

Ok so I just got my 2nd beta results back and my numbers have almost doubled to 5,246.8 (i'm now 20dpt) and doc wants me to come in for scan on Friday:coolio:


----------



## froggyfrog

Your numbers are so awesome praying! I bet you have two in there!


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog said:


> Your numbers are so awesome praying! I bet you have two in there!

Thanks froggy, the nurse didn't say it but I think that's why he wants to do a scan to see how many are in there. I have been working with this clinic and doctor for over 4 years now and he has really been cheering us on so I think he is just as excited as us to take a look inside lol.


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## rebecca822

Praying, that's wonderful! 
I'm waiting for my beta results from this morning. I have a feeling I'll get them tomorrow because I went to an outside lab instead of my doctors office.


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## Fern81

Congrats myshel!! Xxx

Froggy- hope your nausea eases up a bit. Almost weekend!

Praying - wow I'm even starting to think triplets :) can't wait to hear the news on Friday.

Then next weeks we have a couple of scans right, I must say I'm super curious to find out how many multiple pregnancies we will have on here!

Hugs everyone. It was interesting to read about everyone's symptoms. Seems more and more that I'm not too weird for having basically no symptoms (although I had waves of nausea this morning while teaching my first class, mmmm!!).

Rq- that sounds super painful and unpleasant hun! How long do you still have to take the shots for? Sorry I can't really weigh in on the RE /OB switch, as I reside in a different country.... here my reproductive specialist referred me to an OB in the same hospital to just take over my treatment as from 10 weeks so that's pretty easy.


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## Fern81

Fx for your next beta too Rebecca! Xx I know it will be great.


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## Prayingforno1

rebecca822 said:


> Praying, that's wonderful!
> I'm waiting for my beta results from this morning. I have a feeling I'll get them tomorrow because I went to an outside lab instead of my doctors office.

Thanks Rebecca-I hope they call you early! Don't they know we are anxiously waiting on the results? I couldn't even get much work done until I got my results today lol


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## Prayingforno1

Fern81 said:


> Congrats myshel!! Xxx
> 
> Froggy- hope your nausea eases up a bit. Almost weekend!
> 
> Praying - wow I'm even starting to think triplets :) can't wait to hear the news on Friday.
> 
> Then next weeks we have a couple of scans right, I must say I'm super curious to find out how many multiple pregnancies we will have on here!
> 
> Hugs everyone. It was interesting to read about everyone's symptoms. Seems more and more that I'm not too weird for having basically no symptoms (although I had waves of nausea this morning while teaching my first class, mmmm!!).
> 
> Rq- that sounds super painful and unpleasant hun! How long do you still have to take the shots for? Sorry I can't really weigh in on the RE /OB switch, as I reside in a different country.... here my reproductive specialist referred me to an OB in the same hospital to just take over my treatment as from 10 weeks so that's pretty easy.

Triplets-oh my lol :help:


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## Rq120

Wow praying, that's a big beta! Glad you get to find out soon!

Congrats myshelsong!

Fern - I don't know how long I'm supposed to take progesterone. Also, I don't know when and how many visits I'll have with my RE. I guess I'll find out both of those answers next Thursday.


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies,

2702 today at 14dp5dt!

Yay! My first ultrasound will be Wednesday morning, can't wait to find out if we have 1 or 2 sticky beans :)


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## Prayingforno1

Congrats Rebecca!!! Awesome numbers!


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## froggyfrog

Congrats rebecca!


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## Prayingforno1

Hi guys a bit of a rough day for me today, my aunt lost her battle with cancer last night. She got progressively weaker over the past week so although we were prepared for the worst we were still not ready for it. Trying my best to not work myself up or stress about but it is so hard. She has 3 teenagers with the youngest a 13 year old so please keep them in your thoughts/prayers.


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## rebecca822

Oh praying, that's so sad. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. 
Damn cancer!


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## Myshelsong

So sorry for your loss Praying. Thoughts are with you.


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## Fern81

Sending you many many hugs Praying, losing a loved one is always hard especially with her kids left behind. You & them are in my thoughts and prayers. Xx

Rebecca - congrats on your beta! Can't wait for your scan.


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, hi Boopin:wave:
Would I be able to join your group? I've just read through and many of your struggles I can relate to you. And here we are with miracle babies on the way! 
Rebecca congrats on the beta results.
Prayin, I'm sorry to hear about your aunt. 

I read that some of you are stuggling with bloat maybe from OHSS? Has anyone tried coconut water? It has potassium & works wonderfully on bloat. I have wicked arthritis and get bloated & inflamed from exercise or just looking at certain foods:haha: Anyway, not only is the potassium great for bloat but durung the summer pregnant women get restless leg syndrome from drinking so much water & washing away the mag, potassium, & all those minerals we need. Potassium kicks restless leg beautifully! 
I just got my second set of betas back today and it could be twins by the looks of it. :bunny:


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## boopin4baby

Hi 2have!! :flower:

I've been lurking on this thread.. lol!! I'm afraid to get too involved until my scan on 6/17. I go for my last beta tomorrow morning. When I get the results back could you run them through the app to see if I'm within twin range?? :haha: I have a ticker 2have, it's on my message board. I'm airing on the side of caution right now. I'll display it after my viability scan. xx


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## 2have4kids

boopin4baby said:


> Hi 2have!! :flower:
> 
> I've been lurking on this thread.. lol!! I'm afraid to get too involved until my scan on 6/17. I go for my last beta tomorrow morning. When I get the results back could you run them through the app to see if I'm within twin range?? :haha: And I have a ticker 2have, it's on my profile page. I'm airing on the side of caution right now. I'll display it after my viability scan. Fx'd!!

I'd love to but I need to know your transfer date and the day after transfer when your betas were taken. Here are the links bella, I'm sure you'llbe high above the median averages!

So this one uses o as the start, add 5 days (it was a 5 day transfer yes?) and then add how many days after transfer to beta 5+B
https://www.babymed.com/tools/hcg-calculator

This one is better geared to us ivf-ers:
https://www.wantbaby.info/calculato...ryo=5&day1=9&hcg1=178&day2=&hcg2=&pregnancy=0


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## rebecca822

2hav- that's cool! I tried it and it shows there's a high chance in carrying multiples!
Boopin- I know what you mean it's hard to allow yourself to get excited when it seems too good to be true.


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## boopin4baby

becca - I just tried the beta hcg calculator and it said that I have a high chance of multiples, too... LOL!!


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## rebecca822

boopin4baby said:


> becca - I just tried the beta hcg calculator and it said that I have a high chance of multiples, too... LOL!!

Lol! What are your beta numbers?

My first was 377 at 9dp5dt
Second 2702 at 14dp5dt


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## 2have4kids

Boopin you did 3 sets didn't you? 
Mine were 199 @ 7dp5dt and 644 @ 9dp5dt I see the doctor for my initial visit tomorrow and might ask for a third.


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## boopin4baby

08dp5dt = 256
10dp5dt = 520
16dp5dt = 4,387
18dp5dt = 10,109
20dp5dt = 15,854
23dp5dt = 22,571


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## rebecca822

Seems like everyone is getting high betas :)
Wednesday will be my 3rd and final beta. Will also have an ultrasound Wednesday :)


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## boopin4baby

That's an early scan becca... nice ;)
My fertility clinic's making me wait until 6 weeks & 2 days.
I can't wait to see my little bean. The waiting is brutal!! :wacko:


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## Fern81

Welcome 2have!! The more the merrier :) congrats on your pregnancy! When is your edd? I will add you to the front page. X

I have to wait till 7weeks 3days for my first scan! Yes it's pure torture. I need to know already lol!!

Hcg calculators are too much fun :)


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## Fern81

Ladies with a singleton embie on board (froggy and myshel), what were your beta numbers? Just for interest sake. My initial numbers were low but had a doubling time of 35hrs so all in the normal ranges. Would like to know what yours were x


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## 2have4kids

Hi Fern, thanks for the warm welcome! Last year with our DD she was a complete surprise and I found out really late in the game (4 weeks after conception). We didn't do betas, I had been waiting for my cycle to come to get on the bcp for our 7th ivf...it never came. After 6 yearsof ttc, 6 ivf's (3DE), and we had just jumped all the hoops to get on the adoption list, she was our miracle baby. 

If you plot your values in either of those two sites you should sort of come in the middle of the chart with a singleton. Did you do your betas yet?

My doctor likes to send me for a heartbeat scan @ 7 weeks (July 4) and the 12 week nauchal translucency routine scan. My appt is today with her so we'll see if July is the first peek at the bean(s)?


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## Fern81

Yep I have :) and it's right in the middle. I expect (hope!) it's a singleton; we only transferred 1 embie. Yep I will also be doing those two, with biochem analysis at 10weeks (blood draw, don't know what they will be testing for yet). 

Boy yes you were fortunate and blessed with your first miracle! 

Remember to send me your edd (only if you want ) so I can add it to our first page xx


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## rebecca822

I know it's a really early scan but once your hcg is at a certain level they can see a sac. Or in my case maybe 2??!


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## 2have4kids

Fern81 said:


> Yep I have :) and it's right in the middle. I expect (hope!) it's a singleton; we only transferred 1 embie. Yep I will also be doing those two, with biochem analysis at 10weeks (blood draw, don't know what they will be testing for yet).
> 
> Boy yes you were fortunate and blessed with your first miracle!
> 
> Remember to send me your edd (only if you want ) so I can add it to our first page xx

Ok, my edd if a singleton is Feb 16 and if twins is Jan 26. Thanks gor adding me!

What if one of us has triplets ladies? PussyCat used to be on a thread that some if us ivf-ers are on and one of her 2 blasts split. In the end, one absorbed but for a month there she thought she was having identical & non-identical twins:haha: what a handful that would be!!!


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## froggyfrog

Welcome 2have! 

Fern my betas were 15dp5dt-182 20dp5dt-2017.


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## Prayingforno1

Hi everyone and welcome 2have4kids and boopin4baby. 

Just getting back from my first scan and although my betas were through the roof I have a singleton on board :). We were able to see the yolk sac and they expect if I were to come back in a week there'd be a heartbeat but doctor recommended we just wait a full 2 weeks (although he knows we are anxious lol). I'll be 7.5 weeks by then so should be a more interesting scan to see. So high betas do not necessarily translate to multiples ladies. I can't wait to find out how many beans you other high beta ladies have on board.


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## rebecca822

Praying- are you relieved or disappointed? 
It's nice when you see that there's something there, makes it feel real!


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## Prayingforno1

rebecca822 said:


> Praying- are you relieved or disappointed?
> It's nice when you see that there's something there, makes it feel real!

Ummm that is a really good question. I am a bit relieved because I know with multiples there is increased risk, likely I'd have to go on bed rest but after ttc for so long I was up to the challenge of multiples. It was good to see something in there, it makes it more real although I am still cautious and praying every second.


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## froggyfrog

Congrats on the good scan praying! I'm sure with high betas, there is no question you will hear that hearbeat. It is the most amazing sound after everything we have been through!


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## Fern81

Congrats on your one lil baby praying! May he/she continue to grow perfectly and have a perfect heartbeat when you go for your next scan. Xx


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## Prayingforno1

Thank you everyone froggy-I expect I'll be crying just like you when I see the heartbeat lol. Praying this 2 weeks flies by.


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## Fern81

2have- I actually hope someone on here has triplets lol!!


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## Prayingforno1

Triplets Fern81 maybe it will be you :):):):) oh wait how many did you transfer?


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## Fern81

Lol noooooo we only transferred one! :) hoping for a singleton :) that's why I need to live vicariously through the multiple pregnancies of others ;)


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## Prayingforno1

lol ok. I hope we have some multiples from the other ladies as well.


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## Rq120

Don't wish multiples on me, lol. I only want one but I'll take what God gives me.


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## Rq120

Hmmm, I looked at those beta calculators and the second one (the one with the scatter graph) seemed to calculate my IVF wrong. I put in days post transfer and I selected 5 day blast and it showed a very high chance for multiples. But as I looked at the graph closer, I noticed at the top it was calculating days post transfer as days post ovulation. For example, my HCG 11 days post 5 day transfer was showing as "11dpo". So I re-did the numbers actually using dpo and they came out as average chance of having multiples.


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## Prayingforno1

Lol Rq120. DH seemed very relived to see just one bean lol.


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## Prayingforno1

Ok out of curiosity I did the beta hcg calculator and per my betas I had a very high chance of multiples. There seems to be no hard set rule when it comes to betas and singletons vs multiples. I read where people had really low betas and ended up with multiples. GL ladies, I'm waiting to hear your count!!


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## Rq120

Our US is next Thursday and I can't wait just so I can see how many are in there. I'm praying for one, but hubby says two is good (be he isn't carrying them either! lol). I told him that if we have two he will have to be a stay at home dad!

We will send the multiples vibe to Rebecca who really wants twins! :)


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## Prayingforno1

Lol way to pass the twins ball Rq120. Rebecca you've been chosen to be the one with twins in our group :)


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## 2have4kids

Rq120 said:


> Hmmm, I looked at those beta calculators and the second one (the one with the scatter graph) seemed to calculate my IVF wrong. I put in days post transfer and I selected 5 day blast and it showed a very high chance for multiples. But as I looked at the graph closer, I noticed at the top it was calculating days post transfer as days post ovulation. For example, my HCG 11 days post 5 day transfer was showing as "11dpo". So I re-did the numbers actually using dpo and they came out as average chance of having multiples.

The second one I thought was actually more accurate than the first as it accounts for the 3 or 5 day transfer and then asks you how many days post transfer your betas were taken. The first one for me isn't accurate, my betas were taken on day 12 & 14 after O = 5 day embie + 7 and 9 days after transfer beta. It calculated 14 & 16 days for me which puts the line lower than it should on the graph. 

High HCG scores don't necessarily mean multiples but when they're done very early on they are a strong indicator that it has happened. There's a beta database that shows how different betas are from mutliples and singletons.


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## 2have4kids

The doctor booked our u/s for june 30 :bunny::wohoo::dance:


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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids said:


> The doctor booked our u/s for june 30 :bunny::wohoo::dance:

Yey-you should be able to see heartbeat by then-congrats I can't wait to find out how many beans you have growing as well :)


----------



## Fern81

Yeyyy Wednesday and Thursday scans to look forward to! Mine is the Monday after (20 june). I want that appointment over asap but then I want to slow down time lol! It's going by a bit too fast :)


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## Rq120

Fern - ugh I feel the opposite. I feel like time is dragging on. I'm sure I won't feel that way the whole time but I have the last few weeks. 

So I called my RE's office about the hives I'm getting from the PIO and they have switched me to vaginally prometrium THREE TIMES DAILY. Yuck! But I guess it is better than scratching myself to death!! I'm at least thankful that there is an alternative AND my insurance pays for it.


----------



## Fern81

Rq I'm taking crinone vaginally and it's a mess but other than that not bad at all. Much better than an injection!

One of the ladies on another thread that I follow just found that she is having fraternal clomid twins :) so happy for her!


----------



## froggyfrog

A lady in my january group just found out she has fraternal clomid twins as well!


----------



## rebecca822

Lol I see I was nominated to have twins.
My DH has twin brothers so I am really cool with it. I guess we'll see Wednesday what happens :)
DH and I are taking a few days off to spend time together so I'm gonna take a break from checking in for the next few days.


----------



## Prayingforno1

Enjoy your time with hubby Rebecca


----------



## Fern81

Enjoy rebecca!!

I think it's the same friend froggy :) she is such a sweetie I'm so happy for her!


----------



## Myshelsong

Yay for everyone's scans coming up.
I am also on prometrium but I was told I can switch to taking them orally if I want too, but they make me dizzy and way grumpy.

Hubby and I are celebrating our 5 anniversary today. We are very excited to celebrate this pregnancy at the same time.


----------



## Fern81

Happy anniversary myshel!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. I'm taking the day off and lounging around in my pjs & robe :) a cold front reached us last night and it's very cloudy & chilly. I kind of wish it would snow here but it never does lol. Snuggling with my cats, oohh bliss!


----------



## 2have4kids

Myshel enjoy your anniversary!!
Fern enjoy your snuggle time. I miss my cats terribly!

We all have the tummy flu, LO can barely keep diwn the rice pablum and when she isn't puking she's filling her diaper. Despite the monumental bleach job I've had to do I feel like I'm keeping on top of everything and baby is still happy beyween sick moments. She's a trooper & I'm so proud of her!


----------



## froggyfrog

I hope yall feel better soon 2have! 

Happy anniversary myshel!!

I hope you enjoyed your kitty snuggles fern. 

I order my fetal doppler today, I can't wait to get it in and start playing with it!


----------



## 2have4kids

froggyfrog said:


> I hope yall feel better soon 2have!
> 
> Happy anniversary myshel!!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed your kitty snuggles fern.
> 
> I order my fetal doppler today, I can't wait to get it in and start playing with it!

I have one. They're great after about 19-21 weeks, heartbeat comes through pretty clear at that point!


----------



## Fern81

Oohhh froggy that's so exciting :). Where did you buy it from?

2have- are you all feeling a bit better today? Poor all of you but most of all poor baby :/ I hate when little ones get sick and they don't understand why they are feeling so rotten!

One more week until my scan. This journey has been one of the hardest things in my life, ever; and these last few weeks WONDERING ALL THE TIME have been no exception!


----------



## Prayingforno1

Happy Monday everyone hope you all had a good weekend.

Happy anniversary myshel!

Froggy-What type doppler did you get? Based on what I've read on the boards there are many different ones available.

Well this morning at work I am totally exhausted. Went to bed around 11pm and woke up around 2am and couldn't get back to sleep. Ended up downloading a few pregnancy apps and falling asleep a few hours later, needless to say when my alarm went off at 6am I was not a happy camper :(. I've had sharp pains shooting up my v the past few days. They don't last long but short and sharp. Anyone else felt this?


----------



## froggyfrog

I hope this week Flys by for you fern! I have my second scan on the 21st. 

Sorry your so tired praying. I have been having trouble falling and staying asleep since I found out I was pregnant. I talked to my nurse about it, and she said that there are things that I can take. I don't feel comfortable taking some of them, like Tylenol pm, but started taking a 2.5 MG tablet of melatonin. It seems to work!


----------



## froggyfrog

I ordered a sonoline b. I got it from fetaldoppler.net. they got a lot of good reviews. If you are in the us though, it looks like the free shipping is the best option. Some of the reviewers that had a bad experience upgraded their shipping option, and it took longer. But most of the ones who selected free shipping got it within a week!


----------



## Rq120

Praying - I am also exhausted today. Some nights I wake up in the middle of the night and I am awake for an hour or two. I refused to look at the clock last night so I don't even know what time it was. I'm also getting quick sharp pains in my v. Must just be things settling or moving in the pelvic floor.

I have to go home tonight and pack for a work trip. I am travelling to Hudson, OH (5 hours from me) at 8am tomorrow and heading back Wed afternoon. Won't be home until 9-10pm Wed. All of this for a meeting that is prob not worth it. Hoping I am feeling more energetic tomorrow for the trip.


----------



## Prayingforno1

Thanks froggy I actually have melatonin at home so may give that a try as well. Also thanks on the doppler info. I may order one after we see heartbeat during our next scan on the 24th.

Rq120-Have a safe trip and I hope you feel better as well. Hopefully you can turn in a bit earlier to night which may help with your energy tomorrow.


----------



## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, we're all feeling better except baby's tummy must have been cramping because she cried periodically last night. We took her into our bed so we could feed her more regularly & comfort her immediately. 

I have the Sonoline B from ebay. Was ~ $30 new. 

The sharp pains my OB calls the picket fence pains. When baby snuggles in there are nerves they reach all over the uterus that refer elsewhere. It can last the whole pregnancy or subside & recurr.

Praying be careful with Melatonin & pregnancy. I watched a documentary that non-pregnant regular adults take up to 3 times more Melatonin than what's required and it's contraindicated with pregnancy:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/melatonin/safety/hrb-20059770


----------



## Prayingforno1

Oh wow thanks 2have4kids. Reminds me how careful we have to be with what we put into our bodies during pregnancy. _Avoid in women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Melatonin may decrease sex drive, increase the risk of developmental disorders, and reduce ovarian function_ 
@froggy the link is worth checking out.


----------



## froggyfrog

Thank you 2have, I'm still going to follow what my nurse says is safe. I know that because melatonin isn't regulated by the fda, they legally can't say whether or not it's safe during pregnancy. I of course would never take anything without getting it okayed by my clinic. I also don't take it every night, and only take 2.5 mg.


----------



## 2have4kids

It's one of those pregnancy things that we have to use our personal good judgement for and I would never judge you on what you decide is right for you. To eat the sushi or not? Most Japanese would laugh knowing American women & British avoid sushi, and sushi is ok if flash frozen first (it's the fresh stuff that can carry parasites). 
I eat sushi, as long as it's flash frozen, while pregnant. 

The real harm, from what I've read in the World Gealth Organization's website are these two things:
- not enough folic acid in early pregnany = spina bifida. So I take 5mg 5- methyl folate < the active form that your liver doesn't need to process first.

And anemia. Low iron is a direct causation of ADD, ADHD, and learning disabilities. And how many kids do we see now with this? Who uses those big old heavy cast iron pans anymore? iron carries the oxygen on your blood to baby. So when you're hemoglobin is low or in other words you're even slightly anemic throughout pregnancy you're slowly starving your baby's brain of oxygen. So I take Proferrin (a super easily absorbed pill) and liquid iron (Floradix) in my orange juice in the morning 40 min before breakfast. My babies will be sharp! The problem with cheap pill form iron that is in most prenatals is it's very hard to digest and constipated us. Especially if your prenatal contains calcium too (they will just bind together and bung you up). So Proferrin, Floridix, and Spatone are the most easy to absorb. We need 28 mg of iron / day = 28 heaping plates of spinach. Are you eating that much? I'm not!:haha: and spinach is a non-haem iron, again hard to digest ugg. SOOO many woman get anemia in 3rd tri but have nooo idea how bad it is for baby (just check out the third tri pregnancy boards). 

I blame the doctors for not screening for this more regularly and not educating about the long term developmental cognitive effects of anemia during pregnancy. My gf is in her third tri right now and anemic but refused to follow doctors orders and take something to help baby. I feel so sorry for him. I told her 3 month of taking a liquid supplement, even water like Spatone can make a lifetime difference in your baby's brain. She doesn't care, she hates supplements.:dohh: refuses to take a prenatal, won't eat veggies, got pregnant while on her honeymoon and drinking heavily. I told her with anemia she's setting herself up for a lifetime of misery if her baby has severe ADHD abd I hope for baby's sake it all comes out ok. She texted me 'thanks for sharing'. :cry:


----------



## beemeck

hi girls - I'd love to join. 

although, ironically I think this baby was conceived naturally ?? here is my backstory:

I fell pregnant the first month trying. I found out a few weeks later that it was a cervical ectopic pregnancy - the baby had implanted in my cervix. had a strong heartbeat and was growing appropriately so I was given MTX (a chemo drug) to stop the heartbeat and was prepped for surgery. Because it's life threatening, (high chance of hemorrhaging) they planned to go in through my femoral artery and cut off the blood supply to my uterus , but wanted the heartbeat to be gone before surgery. unfortunately I did hemorrhage before that could happen and I was prepped for a hysterectomy. miraculously they were able to avoid that (I stopped hemorrhaging once they removed the sack). but they had to stitch me up (in my cervix) and told me to take 3 months off bc of the MTX.

since then (over a year) it was unexplained infertility. I did two failed IUIs with trigger and femara. This month was unmedicated due to have a SIS performed (the femara was making me O early) but I requested a natural IUI. My doc humored me but turns out I ended up ovulating the day after the IUI. 

although I have a ton of symptoms, I was absolutely (and still am) in shock that I got a bfp this morning. total shock. it's been 15 months and a natural cycle. I'm ecstatic. already got my first round of bloods this morning (high risk so betas every other day) and will be getting the call very soon. 

I'm terrified but I know you'll ladies will understand. I look forward to meeting you all!!!

my EDD is 2.23.17 

<3


----------



## froggyfrog

I was talking to my friend who is ttc #2 and I told her 2 months ago about taking folic acid for 3 months before conceiving is what is recommended. She replied with "oh I think that I knew that" and then just last week she says that she has only started taking her prenatal every day for a week. I didn't say anything to her about it again though. Also thyroid issues can cause the baby to have learning disabilities if not balanced which requires your thyroid to be checked periodically. I get mine checked every few months to make sure I'm on the right dose of medicine. And the same friend has a thyroid out of whack as well, but has only just now begun to go get checked, and she is severally out of balance. I hope she can get it under control. 

I don't know that sushi is in my comfort zone. I even warm up my deli meats when I make a sandwich lol. I'm pretty freakish about everything since I'm pregnant. I call my clinic about everything. I'm sure I get on my nurses nerves by now, but that's why I pay them so much money, right? That's one reason I don't want to switch to my ob, the personal care I get is so amazing at my REs office.


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## froggyfrog

Welcome beemeck! I have never heard of the embryo implanting in the cervix, how scary! Congrats on your bfp! Keep us updated with your betas.


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## Myshelsong

Hey ladies! Had a great weekend with hubby, went to a park, had a good dinner, did stuff around the house and napped constantly!

The age old sushi debate lol. I personally don't like sushi enough to care, but if I really need it I think I would get the sushi that is more Americanized with cooked fish or shrimp anyways just to be safe.

I am just trying to eat as healthy as possible, I have prescribed vitamins that I take twice daily and am eating lots of fruit and veggies. Although for some reason I hate broccoli now.... I loved it for so long now I can't eat it. Weird for aversion I guess. Still not ms but nausea is kicking in, so trying to eat small meals and drink plenty of water. 

Should I be worried I don't have ms? I know I am not far along yet and There are some articles that say yes, some that say no, some that say it doesn't matter. I know everyone's bodies are different, but anyone else feeling .... Pretty good at 6w6d?


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## Prayingforno1

Welcome beemeck and GL on your BFP. We'll be here waiting for your blood results.

@2have4kids I agree we have to use our personal judgement. ATM my vitamins routnie includes a prenatal prescribed by doctor, calcium supplement and folic acid. 

@Froggy-Sigh isn't it frustrating when you are trying to actually help someone and they blow you off or are just so laid back. A few years back I had a coworker who once finding out she was preggors starting eating captain crunch cereal among other sweets everyday (she was a serious health nut pre BFP). I suggested that maybe she should try to eat a bit healthier because her baby's development is reliant on diet as well as vitamin supplements. Of course she didn't listen to me. Unfortunately, she ended up being diagnosed with diabetes during her pregnancy which led to having to follow instructions from a nutritionist and also having to take insulin. I know I do not have the best eating habits but I am surely trying to be conscious of what I put in my body.


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## Prayingforno1

Hi Myshelsong glad to hear you had a good weekend. I am not a big sushi fan either so no biggie for me on that one. I do not have any real symptoms either which actually sent me into a google search rampage over the weekend lol.


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## beemeck

beta was 68 which they are really happy with for 11dpo. so please, please keep doubling!!!


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## Prayingforno1

beemeck said:


> beta was 68 which they are really happy with for 11dpo. so please, please keep doubling!!!

Congrats beemeck!! Do you do another in 2 or 3 days?


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## beemeck

I'll go back in 2. ironically, I'm more concerned about a loss than I am about another ectopic. so really hoping for good numbers so I can relax at least a LITTLE bit :haha:


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## Prayingforno1

Yes I am hoping your numbers keep climbing and try your best to relax which I know is easier said than done :)


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## 2have4kids

Nice number bee, congrats & welcome! 

Praying my friend is just like your diabetes lady, willing everything bad to happen that might. And what's so unfair is it's so easy for her to get pregnant. She hated babies until I had LO and then bam, she saud sge coukd 'warm up to having a kid' and the next thing I knew she was pregnant. I care about the babies if these women. If they refuse so adamently to take care of baby's nutrition when pregnant how receptive to baby's needs will they be aa moms? I'm glad my friend moved far away from me here in Canada to Florida. It would drive me bonkers seeing her little boy suffer under her care.


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## froggyfrog

Myshel, I wouldn't worry about not having ms. I have only had nausea. I have gagged off of smells, sights, and brushing my teeth. On Saturday I threw up for the first time, and it was because dh ripped one in the living room while we were sitting on the couch. We had already had an incident where he did it a few days earlier and I started gagging, so as soon as he realized what he had done he took off running to get the air freshener. It was too late. I was already throwing up. I'm just glad I made it to the trash can


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## Fern81

Hi Beemeck, you are very welcome!! Wow what a traumatic experience that must have been, I shuddered just reading it. Hoping with all my heart that this baby is sticking tightly, in exactly the right place. Will add you to the first page. Xx

I could be completely wrong... but maybe because we all struggled for so long we are all super concerned and go to a LOT of trouble to make sure our babies are ok, while other ladies who got pregnant very easily, might be very casual about the whole situation. Of course that doesn't apply to everyone... but I've even seen people carry on drinking & smoking etc while pregnant! And I agree, it really frustrates the heck out of me when people refuse to listen to good, scientifically proven, well-meant advice!

Froggy- the "throwing up thanks to hubs" story had me LOL. I could just picture it!!

Well I also still don't really have any symptoms! Had so much energy this morning that I did a nice workout. No real nausea, just a tad now and then. Boobs are no bigger and not very sore. Cramping has stopped. I'm feeling slightly more hungry & tired than usual but then again I'm always hungry & tired! :). My sister never had any symptoms with her first. If I wasn't ttc then I probably wouldn't have noticed these as symptoms at all. The only thing I guess that's a bit different than how I usually feel, is having posterior pelvic pain for a week now.


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## Rq120

Myshelsong - I don't have any MS. I might have had a food aversion once. I won't worry too much about it, I'm sure it is coming. lol


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## Myshelsong

Congrats beemeck! Hope the number doubles!!!

Fern - There is no doubt in my mind that we are all a little bit more cautious and terrified and concerned about pour symptoms, health, whatever because we have had to go through such lengths to get pregnant to begin with. This is 100% true for me.

Froggy omg that is so funny!!! Thank goodness I don't have nauseous smell syndrome. My toots have been the worst lately


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies,
It's been a really nice enjoyable weekend for me. Had a lot of family time and we had a no phone policy.

I'm definitely feeling more symptoms. I can't stand the smells of certain foods.
Today I was quite naseous and took Zofran. 
Counting down till Wednesday mornings beta and us.


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## Prayingforno1

Hi Rebecca welcome back it is nice to detach from our phones sometimes :) Sorry to hear you've been nauseous. I've been feeling the same with yesterday being my worst. As soon as I got home I was so nauseous and tired I went straight to my bed. I drank a ginger beer which I think may have helped some. Can't wait to hear your beta results!


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## Fern81

Sounds like such a nice break rebecca. Phone free time.... I hope I can get hubby to do that sometime. He is addicted to his phone. Even when we go on a date all he does is take pics all night long and sit on his phone making video stories about our "date" while I have conversations with myself! :( phones are nice but they can really suck too. Gl with your betas and upcoming scan. Twins, twins, twins!

Praying - sorry that you both are feeling so nauseous. Maybe it's due to your sky-high hcg levels? Hope you find something that works for you!

Uhhh I started with a sore throat last night and woke up to a full blown cold& sore body. I've been so vigilant in washing my hands and disinfecting everything (I have students in here all the time and they can get pretty germy!). But I let my guard down this weekend & cuddled my sick niece too much. Today is ok, only 4hrs of work but tomorrow I'm teaching for 9 hours! And it's freezing cold here. Wish I could stay in bed. Needless to say I'm yearning for my ibuprofen and tylenol with codeine lol.


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## rebecca822

Omg I do not feel well I have no freaken clue how I will make it another few months. I remember with my daughter I was nauseous for 9 months but I wasn't working in the beginning so I literally did not leave my bed. I have no idea how I will survive.
I'm sitting at work and I feel like a snail. And I just want to crawl into bed. I'm exhausted and nauseous!
I'm so grateful for this pregnancy so I'm not really complaining but I have no clue how I will physically get through this.


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## Prayingforno1

Rebecca I feel this same way this morning. By 10am I was totally exhausted and ready to go home and now started feeling nauseous again so munching on a ginger biscuit to see if that will give any relief. I hope you feel better hun. It will all be worth it for us all :)


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## Prayingforno1

Oh wow we have a lot of sickies around here today.

Fern81 -If you don't get any relief you may need to call up your dr to see if they can prescribe something. I hope you feel better hun and hope your short day means you get to crawl into bed early.


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## beemeck

sorry that you ladies aren't feeling well, but hopefully it's giving you peace of mind that everything is going well! I wish I had more symptoms, yet I know that it's really too early for anything much. so excited to see some scans! we will try one next week to see if they can find the sac in the uterus. :thumbup:


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## Rq120

Awe poor ladies! I don't have any nausea yet. In fact I'm at a pub (stopping for lunch on my work trip) getting ready to munch on a sandwich. I was tired yesterday morning but feeling great today. Hope you all start feeling better!


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## rebecca822

I'm just worried that I won't start feeling better. I think I may be in for 9 months of nausea! I'm so eager for my scan tomorrow. With twins at least I'll give birth 2+ weeks earlier than with a singleton ;)
My obgyn dos discuss that I can go once a week for IV fluids to minimize some of the nausea. Being well hydrated helps but obviously if you vomit when you drink you can't keep hydrated :)
We will explore that option in the coming days/weeks depending on how I feel.


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## 2have4kids

Oh ms! Sorry to hear everyone is sick. I'm just tired with this little 8 month old princess who feels she doesn't need to sleep or nap. She's just like me, I always hated napping and still do :haha: 

I was craving something sweet after dinner last night so we walked to this awesome Italian market near our house and DH bought me a brownie. I felt so sick afterwards, faint, heart racing, anxious...this is the start of GD. Do no more brownies, sweets, pasta, noodles, or rice for me. Protein, veg and a little fruit to satisfy the sweet tooth. I gained 25 lbs with my 1st pregnancy thanks to that terrible reaction I get with sweets & carbs. My diet was so stinking healthy I hated it! And here we go again. Boring! 
After the 1st 6 weeks after transfer are up I'm going to get back into the gym. I always give it up for a short time after transfer just to be in the safe side. Walking us my main mode of exercise right now. What'x everyone else doing? I did pilates, yoga & gym workouts with my last pregnancy right up to month 7. I felt good throughout the whole pregnancy. Hoping to with this one too.


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## rebecca822

2have- wow, I'm jealous of you! I live on crap when I'm pregnant. I can't stomach any protein at all. All I eat is bread and pasta.
As far as exersize- I feel too sick to move most of the time I'm a couch potato :(


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## Myshelsong

So sorry you guys are feeling like crap.

Never been pregnant before, but so far I can't complain. The only thing I can't stomache so far is broccoli and asperagus. Eating lots of fruit right now, but I am craving carbs like mad. No bread in the house, going to have to go shopping. Although not feeling great after taking my vitamins.


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## froggyfrog

Myshel, I heard if you get sick k from your vitamins, then take them right before bed


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## rebecca822

I second that, I take my vitamins at bedtime.


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## Prayingforno1

Same here I take all my vitamins at night apart from a calcium supplement which I take twice a day. 
I tried eating a lighter meal for lunch today (small soup) and the nausea is a bit better than yesterday when I had a salad (which I couldn't finish) and felt horrible afterwards. I plan on restarting some form of exercise once I see the heartbeat next week-probably light walking on treadmill. I think after I see that heartbeat I will be a bit more relaxed and hopefully feel well enough to get off my butt and walk.


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## beemeck

I'm going to do prenatal yoga. I've been doing fertility yoga so now I'll finally switch over ! Although I think I'm only going to go once a week because I don't like the thurs night teacher and don't want to go Saturday mornings (not a morning person at all) so I'll prob just go every tues which I worry won't be enough :/ 

As far as diet goes I'm vegan so my diet won't change much and it's typically very health conscious to begin with. So far I've been ravenous - hope my appetite slows down a bit bc geeze! Lol


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## froggyfrog

I switched from regular yoga to prenatal yoga. I just do it at home, and I love the prenatal yoga! It's so nice!


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## beemeck

That's a great idea frog - maybe I can supplement at home so I'm getting more than one day a week!


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## froggyfrog

I looked into taking classes, but I couldn't justify spending 200 dollars a month. I feel like that money can go to something else


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## Fern81

Rebecca may I suggest beans& lentils as a source of protein. It doesn't taste meaty, in fact more starchy than anything else. And it will help baby(ies!) get that much needed protein & iron xx.

Hope all the nausea abates ladies!

Tbh it's just a cold, I definitely don't see it as a pregnancy symptom. I still don't feel nauseous at all :). Sympathy to all you other lovelies though!

Exercise - I try to walk 30-40 min at least 3 times a week, or alternatively do a 30min workout. Atm I'm sooo busy with work though that I don't get as much done as I'd like; I'd love to work out every day. Definitely don't want to struggle with gd or gaining too much weight. Yeah I'm not too comfortable with my body.


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## rebecca822

Fern- I will try lentil soup, that sounds appetizing at the moment.
I was going to have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch but I was out of PB.


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## 2have4kids

Mmm and hemp hearts have a huge amount of protein for a tiny amount. Along with omega 3 & 6 for baby's brain. I sprinkle them in my salad or over yoghurt & oatmeal. LO gets hem hearts in her veggie mix baby food. Protein helps kids grow tall.
Greek yoghurt is also a staple protein with us, we're having snorkers & perogies with creamy yoghurt for dinner tonight.


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## Prayingforno1

Just wondering if you guys still take hpt between visits? I went for scan last Friday and although I have been feeling nauseous the cramping and and sharp pains have stopped. I'm thinking of taking a test in the morning to comfort myself especially since I don't go in for scan until next Friday (an eternity). I'm trying not to be a worry wart but it's not easy. At least later in pregnancy the baby's movement gives indication all is well but being so early on without that is so hard.


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## 2have4kids

If I was bleeding Zi prob would but I feel no cause for concern at this point. If it comforts you I say go for it!


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## rebecca822

Praying- even if you took an HPT and something was wrong with the pregnancy it may still show positive because there would be hcg in your body.
I know the wait is super hard especially when you feel nothing but I would t recommend testing.


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## rebecca822

We have twins!!!!!!!


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## beemeck

congrats rebecca that is amazing!!!!! :happydance::happydance::happydance::happydance: so happy for you :) 

just got my second beta drawn this morning. should know soon.....


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## Prayingforno1

So I took the test and came back super duper dark. I guess I just needed to see it for myself. That was the last hpt I had at home so I'll make that the last one I take for this baby. i feel much more relaxed and I think I got a bit paranoid reading a few things online last night.


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## Prayingforno1

rebecca822 said:


> We have twins!!!!!!!

Omg congrats that is awesome!!!


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## Prayingforno1

beemeck said:


> congrats rebecca that is amazing!!!!! :happydance::happydance::happydance::happydance: so happy for you :)
> 
> just got my second beta drawn this morning. should know soon.....

Yey isn't it exciting? Can't wait to see your big number


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## Myshelsong

Yay Rebecca! Congrats on the twins, how very exciting for you guys! :dance:

Good luck beemeck

I love all the healthy food options, not going to lie I am not a healthy weight so hrs on proper meals and healthy options are great. It is something I struggle with, I am eating a lot of veggies, fruit drinking water and avoiding pops. But adding things like hemp hearts never occurs to me.


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## Fern81

Congrats Rebecca!!! Woohoo mama, double trouble just like you were hoping for <3! Will update the first page for you. No wonder you feel so crappy. My sister was the same with her twins. Sorry hunny! Eat LOADS of energy and nutrient rich food and sleep as much as you can :) also make sure to exercise your transverse abdominal muscles so as to limit diastasis recti. That's all I have to contribute; what I learned from Sis :)

Beemeck fx for your second beta, keep us updated asap! Xx

Glad your hpt is still looking good praying. I'm the same even though I know an hpt doesn't give too much info... in fact I tested again yesterday lol.

Omw I'm SO sick with this cold/flu. I literally just want to cry. I get like the stereotypical man when I'm sick & every symptom feels like I'm dying. At least my temp is not too high.... uuhhh just going to sleep for the rest of the day and pray I'm still pregnant :(.


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## Prayingforno1

Oh man hope you feel better Fern and can hurry get rid of that flu. A bad flu can make you feel so miserable and not wanting to be bothered by anyone or anything. Is it safe to pile up on vitamin c during pregnancy? That's normally my trick when I have the flu.


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## Prayingforno1

Hi ladies, for you first time moms to be like me are you doing anything for DH for Father's Day ?


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## Myshelsong

We are doing actual Father's Day with my dad, and I am not telling them until the second scan, so we aren't doing anything traditionally.
But I am hoping to make him a card for a father to be from our Peanut. I might attach some peanut M&Ms to the front or something like that. Nothing big, but just an acknowledgement. He has been wonderful so far so he deserves something.


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## beemeck

I *kind of* wanted to wait until father's day to tell my DH, but of course I couldn't! :haha:

for my reveal to him, I bought a book called "I love Daddy" and two outfits. A boy outfit that said "Good looks courtesy of Daddy" and a girl outfit that said "daddy loves me". 

So I got him a card for father's day and I want to get something else, but I'm not sure yet! 

I am taking this pregnancy so different from my first. I hadn't told a single soul about my first (except DH) because I was doing the whole wait til 12 weeks thing. Then everything went horribly wrong at 7 weeks and I was hospitalized for so long that everyone ended up knowing what happened anyway. so this time we are just embracing it. I've told 2 friends and will tell my family at our get together on father's day. whatever happen will happen and if something bad happens I know how much I loved having the support of my loved ones during that difficult time. what about you girls?


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## rebecca822

Fern- I hope you feel better soon! I had a 24 hour flu a couple years ago. I thought I was dying I was so sick!

We don't plan on telling anyone until 12 weeks. I am so afraid that something will go wrong and I can't bare untelling people.
At 12 weeks we will only tell parents. Unless I'm showing then we will tell other people then as well..


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## Prayingforno1

I think I may do something small for DH but not quite sure what yet. He is so excited about this pregnancy it is super adorable. Everyday when I get home he talks to our little bean and kisses my tummy lol. 

We too are waiting until 12 weeks to tell anyone. The only person who knows is the only friend who we told we were doing IVF because of course he was just as anxious as us to find out if we got our BFP. At 12 weeks we'll tell my parents, siblings and close friends. Everyone else will find out when they see my bump :)


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## froggyfrog

I found a card at Walmart for dad-to-be, so I grabbed it. I will write a little something from the baby. I also got a Daddy and Me plaster stone kit. So that after he is born we can make a stone with either hand and foot prints, or write his stats in it.

Oh and everyone we know, knows we are pregnant!


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## rebecca822

Froggy congrats on being 8 weeks today!
I guess I will be due around the same time as you since they won't let me go past 38 weeks (hopefully I will make it that far)


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## froggyfrog

Congrats on twins! How exciting!


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## Rq120

Congrats Rebecca. I know you were hoping for twins right?

I got my hubby a little present to open for father's day. It's a onesie with "I love daddy" on it. It is teal so it is unisex.


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## rebecca822

Rq120 said:


> Congrats Rebecca. I know you were hoping for twins right?
> 
> I got my hubby a little present to open for father's day. It's a onesie with "I love daddy" on it. It is teal so it is unisex.

Yes, I was hoping for twins :)


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## beemeck

eeeek 242 today!!! 

numbers more than tripled! and my period is not even due for another two days..... has to mean good things, right?? 

I'll still be a nervous wreck but I just gotta think happy thoughts. It's too bad that infertility and pregnancy loss can do this to a person.

I see froggy has already found out the gender. what is everyone's else plan? we are keeping it a surprise!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca congrats, I'm do happy for you. Did they give you a different due date with twins then?:bunny::bunny:
Praying I'm glad the test came back dark for you. Hope you're feeling better.
Fern, the flu while pregnant is horrid! Drink lots of fluids and stay in bed!

For fathers day DH is getting his 1st card from his daughter and a card from me & the bean(s) on the way. We're off to his favourite beer haus with grandma (my mon) for dinner and then a lovely walk around the lake that the beer haus balcony backs onto. 

So we're all on the mend from stomach flu Thurday - yesterday and last night started feeding DD her usual goats milk again. This morning she barfed it all up & had diarrhea really bad. Poor thing:cry: I got her to take a pedialyte popsicle to rehydrate without getting sick. They either tend to drink too fast as their so thirsty with a bottle or they won't drink anything (this is her - no food or water thanks) but oh man those popsicles are a life saver. When your baby gets sick ladies, I highly recommend them. They have electrolytes with a little salt + sugar to properly rehydrate. She's sleeping now.


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## rebecca822

No, they did not yet change my due date. Although, I've never officially received a due date yet. I calculated Feb 10 based on the transfer day.
Normally they deliver twins no later then 38 weeks.


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## Prayingforno1

Hi 2have4kids so sorry your household is not at it's best. I hope your little one gets well soon it is so difficult to see them not at their best especially when they are not at an age to really express how they feel or explain what is hurting them.

rebecca-I know you were able to confirm you are having twins but were you able to see heartbeats as well or is it still to early? When do you go for your next scan?


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## rebecca822

Praying- we were able to see one of the heartbeats. Was just a little flicker. I go back a week from tomorrow and by then I will be close to 7 weeks so they can likely see and measure the heartbeats then.


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## Prayingforno1

Ok that's awesome I can't wait to see the heartbeat.


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## rebecca822

Praying- when is your ultrasound?


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## Prayingforno1

Next Friday-24th at 9:20am lol


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## Prayingforno1

I'll be 7 weeks 4days then so I think that scan will be a bit more exciting than the one I had last week which I think Dr only did because of my fertility issues


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## rebecca822

Prayingforno1 said:


> Next Friday-24th at 9:20am lol

Oh yay!! You'll probably see heartbeat by then!

My next scan is Thursday, June 23 at 10am!

My doctor scared me a bit, she called to congratulate me on the twins but reminded me that we may still only end up with one. She didn't want me to get my hopes up I guess it's good to have a bit of reality...


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## froggyfrog

There are a lot of scans next week! Fern is on monday, I have my 2nd scan on tuesday, Rebecca Thursday and praying on Friday.


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## Prayingforno1

I don't think what Dr said was anything to be alarmed about. I think they just want to manage our expectations some. My Dr suggested we wait until we are further along when risks are lower before announcing our pregnancy. 

Oh yes there are lots joining me in the waiting game for our next appointments. I hope you don't drive yourself crazy like I've found myself doing. On the way home I am going to buy some chamomile tea to help me relax and get to bed early-no googling lol.

froggyfrog are you feeling better today?


----------



## froggyfrog

My nausea comes and goes. It stays around awhile though. I have some preggie pop drops that seem to put the nausea on pause, but it comes back when the preggie pop is gone. I couldn't cook dinner last night, because the chicken I was going to make was making me sick just thinking about cutting it up. I seem to be craving meats, just having a hard time preparing them.


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## Prayingforno1

Aww man, so sorry Froggy. At least the preggy pops give you some relief-albeit short relief. Hope this phase goes by quickly for you and now you have a great excuse to have DH do the cooking :)


----------



## froggyfrog

It's OK though, I have been waiting for so long to be sick from being pregnant. It may sound weird, but as bad as the sickness sucks I am enjoying it


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## rebecca822

Froggy, I know exactly what you mean. When I feel less sick I begin to worry


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## Rq120

froggyfrog said:


> It's OK though, I have been waiting for so long to be sick from being pregnant. It may sound weird, but as bad as the sickness sucks I am enjoying it

I totally get what you are saying!!


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## Myshelsong

Congrats on the beta! Happy and healthy nine months.

Hope the flu leaves your house fast Hun, it sounds horrible. Hope your little ones feel better soon.

What are preggy pops?
I have my next Dr appointment next Friday so will find out my new OB and then when my next scan is after that. Does anyone have thoughts on Dr vrs Midwife?


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## froggyfrog

My mom found them for me at motherhood maternity. They are little candies that you suck on made of all natural stuff to ease nausea. My mom mailed me a big package of them, two maternity shirts, a bunch of little stuff for the baby. She is crazy excited lol.


----------



## Prayingforno1

Totally there with you Froggy-no complaining from me either :)

Myshelsong-I'm not sure what is in the preggy pops but they are lollipops that are very popular and have good reviews in easing pregnancy nausea. I've seen them at a few pregnancy/baby stores-haven't tried them though. Sorry can't really help on dr vs midwife.


----------



## rebecca822

Myshelsong said:


> What are preggy pops?
> I have my next Dr appointment next Friday so will find out my new OB and then when my next scan is after that. Does anyone have thoughts on Dr vrs Midwife?

I'll be vbac so I am not even considering a midwife, also because it's twins I would only use an obgyn.
I know many people are happy with midwives.


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## froggyfrog

I'm using a dr, although my first ob appointment will be with a midwife because the week I turn 12 weeks, my Dr will just be getting back from maternity leave and isn't seeing ob patients that week, only gyno patients. The nurse didn't want me waiting to long so I just scheduled with the midwife.


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## 2have4kids

Froggy how fid you find out the gender so fast was it determined with icsi?


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## Prayingforno1

Aww froggy that is so sweet of your mom. I haven't told my mom yet-she knows we've been trying and we were doing something in May but I didnt go into details with her and explain IVF. For the past week she keeps asking if I feel okay, if I need anything etc so i kind of wonder if something I did gave me away lol. Everyday when we talk I try to keep the convos short so I don't slip lol.


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## froggyfrog

2have, we had our embryos genetically tested. We found out the gender after confirmed beta. We couldn't wait any longer lol. We have 2 boys and 5 girls frozen.


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## froggyfrog

Praying, we told everyone we were doing ivf. We had already collected most of the baby items needed from people's hand me downs over the past few years. Anytime anyone was getting rid of something I volunteered to take it off of their hands. So we won't be needing a baby shower. So instead we had a Help Us Have A Baby shower and asked for monetary gifts in liu of baby shower gifts after we were expecting. It helped pay for a lot of things that weren't covered in our arc package. So all of those people were rooting for us, and constantly asking if I was pregnant yet. We were super excited to announce to all of those wonderful people that yes we were pregnant!


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog said:


> Praying, we told everyone we were doing ivf. We had already collected most of the baby items needed from people's hand me downs over the past few years. Anytime anyone was getting rid of something I volunteered to take it off of their hands. So we won't be needing a baby shower. So instead we had a Help Us Have A Baby shower and asked for monetary gifts in liu of baby shower gifts after we were expecting. It helped pay for a lot of things that weren't covered in our arc package. So all of those people were rooting for us, and constantly asking if I was pregnant yet. We were super excited to announce to all of those wonderful people that yes we were pregnant!

That is awesome that you have such a strong support system. We chose to keep it private to lessen the stress/pressure a bit and we didn't want to risk having the nay sayers or IVF critics try to damper our spirits. The one person we did discuss IVF with was a good friend of DH. DH was hanging over it his place one day and it must have been during one of our low times during our journey and he ended up opening up to him. His friend was super supportive and shared that he and his wife had also tried IVF a few times but were unsuccessful (he had vasectomy reversal that I believe caused the problem) so they ended up adopting their daughters. We never even knew they were adopted. Ever since he's been super supportive and a great friend to DH who he is able to confide in.


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## rebecca822

Today's beta at 21dp5dt is 20,113
Today was the last beta, we will not be doing any more.


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## Prayingforno1

Great number Rebecca those twins are snuggled in good


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## 2have4kids

Great numbers Rebecca! 
Hey someone asked about how much protein is needed for pregnancy a while back & I found this in my email today (it's almost double than pre-pregnancy):


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## Rq120

froggyfrog said:


> My mom found them for me at motherhood maternity. They are little candies that you suck on made of all natural stuff to ease nausea. My mom mailed me a big package of them, two maternity shirts, a bunch of little stuff for the baby. She is crazy excited lol.

That's so sweet. We are waiting until after the US to tell my mother in law. My mom is crazy and just called me last week and told me that she never wants to talk to me again (along with some other nasty sentiments). I would try to explain, but you can't really explain crazy. My in laws are super awesome but they are buying a house in Florida and won't be in close proximity much longer. :(


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## Rq120

Daily symptom update - lol. How is everyone's MS going?? I'm still fine at 6w4d. No MS, just sore boobs, constipation, and acid reflux. I have an US in 4.5 hours and I just know this day is going to drag. Not to mention I'm kinda grumpy! Hope everyone is feeling ok today and 2Have I hope the sickness has moved out of your household!


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## Myshelsong

Good luck on the ultrasound.!!


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## Prayingforno1

Hi Rq-no bad MS for me today. Boobs are sensitive and had a bit of back pain. 

We will soon be moving into our new home and DH is being a bit of a pain today, you'd think he's the one with increased pregnancy hormones lol.


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## froggyfrog

Enjoy seeing your bean rq!

Praying, we have moved a lot because of dhs job. It never fails every move we fight. We joke about it after the fact. We kind of just expect to piss each other off lol. He drives me crazy when he gets stressed!


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## Prayingforno1

Yes froggy the argument this morning was so silly. It was over a delivery time for our appliances-Yes really lol!!! I asked him if he was seriously starting an argument about delivery time lol. We were supposed to be in before our IVF cycle but we had a few delays and we are ready to be in but there's nothing to stress over lol. It must be a DH thing because mine drives me crazy when he's stressed as well.


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## 2have4kids

Omg you guys are killing me with your symptoms, even if I had sore boobs it would be great! But no ms, no aversions, no cravings, nada. 

LO is on the mend thanks RQ, and I have a wedding fashion thru the ages gala event tonight. Wish I could have some bubbly but I'll take pregnancy & a glass of fizzy water instead:haha: it's going to be really hard not to spill the beans to the girls but especially having absolutely no symptoms it makes me want to stay quiet & humble until at least we reach the 12 week mark.


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## rebecca822

Hi guys,

Nausea is still sort of peeking in. Sometimes there and sometimes not. Vommited last night and on Tuesday night :)
I just want to know everything will be ok. I'm so worried about a miscarriage since I've had 2. Ughh if only I could stop worrying.

I'm gonna update my post shortly with my ultrasound from yesterday so you can see my two little beans :)
 



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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids said:


> Omg you guys are killing me with your symptoms, even if I had sore boobs it would be great! But no ms, no aversions, no cravings, nada.
> 
> LO is on the mend thanks RQ, and I have a wedding fashion thru the ages gala event tonight. Wish I could have some bubbly but I'll take pregnancy & a glass of fizzy water instead:haha: it's going to be really hard not to spill the beans to the girls but especially having absolutely no symptoms it makes me want to stay quiet & humble until at least we reach the 12 week mark.

The gala sounds fun, I go out tomorrow with a group a friends to celebrate a birthday. For the past few weeks I told them I stopped drinking as I realized when I drank it caused bad migraines so hopefully that excuse will help me to continue hiding my little secret for another few weeks. I actually hope I can hack the full night out lol, I've been so tired that the only thing I want to do is lie down when I get off from work and tomorrow we will be leaving home at 11:30pm:dohh:


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## Prayingforno1

Your scan picture is so nice Rebecca, your 2 little beans all snuggled in:). In my excitement I didn't ask for a copy of our last scan but will definitely be getting a copy next week!


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## Fern81

Awww congrats again rebecca with your two beautiful snuggly embies!

2have - yep for that reason I'm trying to eat as much protein as possible (have started upping protein intake ever since starting ivf). Not always easy but thank heavens for beans & lentils!

Praying ugh I know we fight a lot when we move or when we do home repairs! Good luck with your move.

I am still sooooo sick. Now my mom, my husband, and my sister's twins have it too; all from my sister's daughter. This should teach me! Since December I haven't come physically close to anyone who is ill, always sanitizing my hands & disinfecting everything. Like bubble boy. And the ONE day I let my guard down (because I was incredibly fatigued), I get very sick. So, back to being bubble boy. And no more visiting Sis if her kids are sick. I even had to cancel some classes today because I can barely breathe/speak (and of course now I can't use my inhaler).... soo lost half my income for the day. Sorry for all the complaining. Just very upset. :(


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## froggyfrog

Beautiful scan Rebecca! 

Fern I'm sorry you are all so sick! Is it something you need antibiotics for?

I just ate a peanut butter sandwich with blackberries on it. It was sooooo good!


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## Rq120

So yeah, can you see two. Lol

Two beans with heartbeats.
 



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## rebecca822

Wait, I'm missing something. Rq- you having twins too!?


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## froggyfrog

Ah so cool! Two sets of twins!


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## froggyfrog

Congrats rq!


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## Prayingforno1

Yey more twins!!! Congrats Rq.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - yep I'm having twins too. Hubby is SO EXCITED.


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## Myshelsong

Wow that is amazing. Congrats both of you, it looks fantastic!


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## rebecca822

Yay, so happy for you!!!


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## 2have4kids

Yay for twins!! This thread is getting exciting! I can't wait to hear about more scans, who's up next?
Praying I hear you about not wanting to go out after work. I'm on a mat leave right now but the night feeds and us all being sick threw me out for a bit. Have fun tomorrow night. Sparkly water with a splash of lime juice is my favourite and if I order at the bar the ladies usually don't know it isn't a highball and when we hosted parties with my last pregnancy I drank cranberry juice which looked like red wine.


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## tulip11

Update
Today was first scan since I started buserelin on 25th of may. But in scan they found out that womb lining is thick so they canceled the treatment for a while and in August will start again from the scratch.
Anyone who had similar experience in past then had success in next cycle ?


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## 2have4kids

Hi Tulip nope, not me. Sorry yo hear about the delay!
Boppin your scan is tomortiw right? I'm very wxcited to see if there are twins n there!


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## Fern81

Congrats rq!! Aaawww I remember you having a premonition/sign with the balloons :) so exciting! I'm updating your front page info. Xx

Sooo if any twin mommas get an official cs date I will change the first page for your due dates too. X

My first scan is monday 4:30 pm.


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## Fern81

Wait... rq are they fraternal?

Tulip- no sorry hun. But at least they will be on the lookout for that issue& keep a careful eye on it in 2 months' time xx.


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## rebecca822

My scan is not until Thursday :(

Can't wait to see my twin beans again!


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## Rq120

Yes, Fern you have a good memory! I'm assuming they are fraternal. We put in 2 5day blasts. They have different sacs and locations: one is in front and one is more back. That's why you can see one really well and the other is shady. 
If I have to have twins I'm really hoping they are a boy and a girl - how much fun would that be. Complete our family in one swoop. Two for the price of one.

The doc played a great trick on us. He walked in and asked me how I was. I told him I'm nervous to find out if its one or two. Then he hide the screen for his initial assessment. He turns the screen to me and starts by saying, "Here is your uterus". Moves the wand a little, and then points out the gestational sac, then yolk sac, then baby. Then we could see the heart flicker (so cool!). He did the heartbeat and turned on the sound so we could hear it. Then asks "Are you happy?" and of course we are like Yes, absolutely. So then he goes, "Good, so then you won't be mad at me for this" and then shows us baby number 2! What a butt!! He did say that after looking to our numbers and knowing what he knows that he still wouldn't change a thing in his recommendations. He also warned us about not telling everyone we have twins yet. Just because it is early. But we haven't told anyone we are pregnant but close friends and family and of course they will find out this tidbit too!
Also, the doctor was so happy. That is one thing I love about him. He has the best success numbers in our state and did the first IVF procedure in our state. I know being top doc is important to him, but I also know he loves his job because he just lights up when he can help someone realize their dream of motherhood. It really is special for him, you can just tell.

I go back in 2 weeks, and again in 2 weeks and then I will be released to my OB. I actually will be changing OBs so I have one in mind, but I will have to figure that all out in about a month.


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## rebecca822

Rq- I'm also hoping for boy/girl twins. If I can't have that then 2 boys. I have 1 girl so it would be nice to get a boy in because I don't know if I'm gonna do all this again...
Your doctor seems sweet. My nurse was so focused on the one yolk sac she missed the second one, so I asked her. Is there 1 or two in there? Then she took a look and was like, oh my, there are two!


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## Rq120

Yeah, my doc is sweet but surly too. He is hard to explain. Sweet but sarcastic? A lot like me actually. He has been practicing a LONG time so I couldn't see him missing two like your nurse almost did!


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## rebecca822

Rq- did they give you a due date? Online it says mine is January 20 but I think that's still a bit early. My OB delivers twins at 38 weeks so I would think that would be about Jan 25


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## Rq120

Rebecca - No he didn't discuss due date and honestly I forgot to ask. He really only said keep doing what I'm doing (ie estrogen, progesterone, vitamin, etc). I also forgot to ask him if I'm released from my limitations, but I'm going to assume I am. I was told no intercourse or baths after my transfer!


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## Prayingforno1

Hi everyone a bit quiet on here today. I've been feeling blah since I got up this morning. Nausea has not been my friend today. Normally it comes and goes but today it decided to stay all day. This weekend I plan on chilling and resting as much as possible. DH has plans for us to do some packing but little does he know that may be his solo project lol. What are your plans for the weekend?


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## rebecca822

Packing sounds dreadful!!
In the mornings and evenings I feel the most sick. During the day I'm usually ok. By 7pm I'm so exhausted that I've been taking cat naps for 20-30 min so that I can get through the rest of the night.

This weekend I plan to stay home and relax. I'm too tired to think about doing anything :)


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## Prayingforno1

I am there with you on the exhaustion. I go out tonight with friends so will get a nap as soon as I get home, hopefully the nap will be enough for me to not be a party pooper.


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## Rq120

I'm headed to go camping this weekend. Camping Friday night and Saturday night and we are going tubing down the river on Saturday. It's the leisurely kind, not rough. I'll be around a bunch of drunk friends, but it will still be lots of fun. I am tired sometimes but most of the time I still feel pretty energetic. I better be energetic enough tonight to pitch two tents and cook dinner!


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## 2have4kids

Rq120 said:


> Yes, Fern you have a good memory! I'm assuming they are fraternal. We put in 2 5day blasts. They have different sacs and locations: one is in front and one is more back. That's why you can see one really well and the other is shady.
> If I have to have twins I'm really hoping they are a boy and a girl - how much fun would that be. Complete our family in one swoop. Two for the price of one.
> 
> The doc played a great trick on us. He walked in and asked me how I was. I told him I'm nervous to find out if its one or two. Then he hide the screen for his initial assessment. He turns the screen to me and starts by saying, "Here is your uterus". Moves the wand a little, and then points out the gestational sac, then yolk sac, then baby. Then we could see the heart flicker (so cool!). He did the heartbeat and turned on the sound so we could hear it. Then asks "Are you happy?" and of course we are like Yes, absolutely. So then he goes, "Good, so then you won't be mad at me for this" and then shows us baby number 2! What a butt!! He did say that after looking to our numbers and knowing what he knows that he still wouldn't change a thing in his recommendations. He also warned us about not telling everyone we have twins yet. Just because it is early. But we haven't told anyone we are pregnant but close friends and family and of course they will find out this tidbit too!
> Also, the doctor was so happy. That is one thing I love about him. He has the best success numbers in our state and did the first IVF procedure in our state. I know being top doc is important to him, but I also know he loves his job because he just lights up when he can help someone realize their dream of motherhood. It really is special for him, you can just tell.
> 
> I go back in 2 weeks, and again in 2 weeks and then I will be released to my OB. I actually will be changing OBs so I have one in mind, but I will have to figure that all out in about a month.

Ohh this is such a great story, I'm overtired and always get more emotional when tired and totally brought me tears :cry: blubbering mess. Yay! I'm so enjoying all of the positivity.


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## 2have4kids

Rw enjoy your tubing & camping, it sounds like fun! Do they know you're pregnant? 

Rebecca I can't believe your nurse didn't see the second baby, I'd be asking too!

Praying good luck with the packing. 

Hopefully the tiredness snd nausea lets up for you ladies! We're off to coffee Sat morning with friends, a housewarming Saturday evening. A visit with my dad in the nursing home for Fathers day Sunday and then dinner & walk Sun evening with my mom & sister. Auntie hasn't seen LO in ages so it should be fun.


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## Fern81

Hi ladies

Rq- that sounds like an awesome weekend. Enjoy every second of feeling fine & energetic, hopefully you are an exception and a twin pregnancy doesn't get you sick too much. Has it started to sink in? xx

Everyone else with a nice leisurely weekend planned, enjoy!

Wow Rebecca I can't believe the nurse didn't think to look for a second baby, surely she could read in your file that you had 2 embies transferred! Luckily you asked.

It's 7:30 am and I'm sitting in my bed where I plan to stay until I've kicked this flu. My fever spiked twice yesterday and I keep having to strip my clothes & lay here panting in the middle of winter! So because it's weekend and I don't have to work, I've cancelled all my plans and am working on getting better. I have my cats and my books. Bliss.


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## Myshelsong

RQ sounds like an amazing weekend! Your dr sounds like a hoot as well!

Fern hope you feel better soon, the flue is the worst. 

Packing sounds like my nightmare right now. 

Praying hope you had a good girls night. 

Yesterday was a good day for me I think. Did a maternity shoot for a friend I had in grade school, which was super fun. It was so hot out though I got really red and they laughed at me. She did great in the heat though, but works in a factory so she was like this heat is nothing! Omg.
Went to the parents after and chit chatted, it was sooo hard not telling them. But I know I am making the right call to wait. At least until the next us which should be by my moms bday so I might do something then.
Suppose to go to an airshow with hubs and his dad and brother, but I really don't want to do. It is so warm and humid today and right now the heat is not my friend, so he has given me permission to bail. I am just going to think about it before I say no for sure though.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong said:


> RQ sounds like an amazing weekend! Your dr sounds like a hoot as well!
> 
> Fern hope you feel better soon, the flue is the worst.
> 
> Packing sounds like my nightmare right now.
> 
> Praying hope you had a good girls night.
> 
> Yesterday was a good day for me I think. Did a maternity shoot for a friend I had in grade school, which was super fun. It was so hot out though I got really red and they laughed at me. She did great in the heat though, but works in a factory so she was like this heat is nothing! Omg.
> Went to the parents after and chit chatted, it was sooo hard not telling them. But I know I am making the right call to wait. At least until the next us which should be by my moms bday so I might do something then.
> Suppose to go to an airshow with hubs and his dad and brother, but I really don't want to do. It is so warm and humid today and right now the heat is not my friend, so he has given me permission to bail. I am just going to think about it before I say no for sure though.

Do you do photography then? Sounds like your friend was a trooper. I fon't blame you for not wanting to get overheated. They're still delicate at this stage, take care of yourself!


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## froggyfrog

Rq enjoy your weekend! 

Fern that sounds horrible! Stay hydrated! 

Myshel, I would opt out too. I seem to get super nauseous when I'm hot. It was to the point where my air in my car wasn't cold enough so I wouldn't drive anywhere in the afternoon. I had to go and get it fixed!


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## boopin4baby

Hello ladies :flow:

We have 1 little bean with a heartbeat of 126 bpm!! Keeping my fx'd for a healthy 9 months. :cloud9:


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## Fern81

Ooohhh yay congrats boopin!! <3


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## boopin4baby

Thanks Fern!! I'm debating if I should put a ticker up or not. I may just wait until my next scan in a couple of weeks. I don't want to jinx anything. I know it sounds silly, but considering my recent history it's totally understandable, right?? It sucks. I want to be happy, but I'm afraid of disappointment again. I don't think the reality has sunk in that I'm pregnant. Or maybe I'm just not allowing myself to realize it, out of self preservation. :shrug:


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## 2have4kids

Boopin as long as you let yourself enjoy the pregnancy at least after the 12 week scan. There were some ladies in my adoption group that refused to buy anything but carseat unt the baby was home safe with them. It was heartbreaking. We go through losses & such trouble to get our beans we deserve to feel the same pregnancy emotions, happiness that regular women do xx:hugs:


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## Myshelsong

Congratulations and a happy and healthy nine months!!


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## rebecca822

Boopin- I know exactly how you feel.
2have- we don't buy anything until baby is born. we wait to buy car seat, clothes, etc.. We can pick out what we like but personally we decided when I was pregnant with DD that we'd wait so we're doing that this time as well.

My weekend was nice. Was super sick in the morning but by 12 ish was feeling a lot better. I have no idea how I'm going to get through another work week. I start work 8am. Ugh I'm so sick in the mornings.


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## Rq120

We had a great weekend camping and tubing. It was hot, but perfect in the water. 2have, it was my best friends and sister in law and they all knew I was pregnant. It was nice not having to try to hide it. 

Fern - yes, it had started to sink in some. I am surrounded by awesome family and my husband is amazing so everything will work out great. I hope you get to feeli g better soon!!!

Friday night at the campsite I started to hurt on the left hand side of my abdomen. It felt kinda like a gas bubble. I went to the bathroom thinking that might help but it persisted all night. By the end of the night my whole abdomen was tender if I pushed on it. It scared me and my hubby but the next morning I was feeling better and a few hours after waking up Saturday I was all better. I'm hoping it was just gas or maybe a ligament stretching. I didn't have any spotting or cramping along with it and it felt like my belly was messed up (not uterus), so I'm sure everything is fine in there.


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## Fern81

I just want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for all the support so far especially with me complaining so much about being sick. Sometimes we all need to vent and it's nice to know that this is a safe place to do so :). I'm actually starting to feel better after spending the whole weekend in bed! :) 

Rq that sounds idyllic. I can just picture it. Can't put your foot in the rivers/dams around here, the water is heavily polluted throughout most of South Africa as there are millions of informal settlements everywhere without sewage or sanitation and they use the rivers which all drain into each other of course (although some blissfully ignorant people do watersport in some pretty nasty water; lol eeeuugghhh!!). I must admit I did swim in some dams etc when I was younger, before I started studying microbiology and found out what's really breeding in there. :blush:

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, back to the grindstone! Which reminds me, are you ladies employed full time/part time? Or a homemaker/SAHM? (I wish I could be a SAHM, really do!!). XX


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## Rq120

Fern - that sounds awful (the polluted rivers) but makes a lot of sense. I live in Indiana and some rivers are better than others. This one is clean and I washed my hands a lot. 

I'm full-time and so is hubby. I make good money so I think since we are having twins, after the birth hubby will prob be a stay at home daddy. Childcare is expensive for newborns and take that times two!!!


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## rebecca822

Fern- we are both full time. Childcare is super expensive, about $2400 per month for full time (Monday- Friday 8hrs per day)
It's going to cost a lot :)
I'll go back to work within 8 weeks. Well need the money and there's no paid maternity leave in USA. Some states have disability coverage but not IL


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## froggyfrog

I'm not working. We moved right before we started ivf, so we decided it was best that I didn't start a new job. And I'll be a sahm, very thankful to be able to do that!


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## rebecca822

Froggy, I am quite envious and wish I could be a sahm. We need my salary so it's not an option. Although I don't know how well id do without the structure of work..


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## Myshelsong

I use to work full-time, but after we moved back to Ontario and decided to do iuis and ivfs I needed a mental break. So I started my own photography and craft\art business which has picked up pretty good this summer. It is subsidising some extra income and keeping me occupied, so hubby loves it. After birth I will take a few months off everything and when I need out I will book some sessions. Love making my own schedule!

Glad tubing was fun, I haven't been in years! We went to my parents place and played in the pool this afternoon. Then dad cooked us a big BBQ dinner. He loves cooling for everyone, wouldn't let us do anything. Great night for sure


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## 2have4kids

Fern I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. You're welcome to vent anytime, never judgement from us!

I'm a fulltime designer and couldn't stay at home as much as I love my LO. I'd go absolutely stir crazy. I make excuses to do long walks everyday just to get out. I love our nest too, it's big n comfy but I love my work and need to feel challenged artistically. We'll get a nanny for the kids. 1 child here is 1350 and two is double. You can get a live in nanny for $1500/month and we have a 2 bedroom basement with kitchen, fireplace & big bright windows. It's perfect. I think I might be a little nutty trusting someone though, nanny cam anyone? For now though DH was laid off last June so until he gets back to work he's our daycare. I'm on maternity leave until Oct 1 but I'll need to go back for 4.5 months to accrue another year long maternity leave. So that prob means an Aug 15 return. My doctor said the due date doesn't get adjusted for twins so we'll see what happens.


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## rebecca822

2have- maternity benefits in the UK are known to be fantastic. Can't imagine having so much time off work. Do you live in the UK?
I would also consider getting a live in, I've never researched it before. I have a 1 bedroom/bath in basement which we save for guests. I would not want to give it up exclusively for a nanny but we will see what the cost looks like.


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## Prayingforno1

boopin4baby said:


> Hello ladies :flow:
> 
> We have 1 little bean with a heartbeat of 126 bpm!! Keeping my fx'd for a healthy 9 months. :cloud9:

Congrats!!


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## Prayingforno1

Hi ladies, Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Apart from going out Friday night I had a pretty chill weekend. Had my absolute worst day on Saturday literally sick the full day :(. I now have bad nausea everyday. Bought some sour candies that help ease it a bit but only as long as the candy lasts.

Both DH and I work full time. I plan on staying home 12 weeks-maybe more if I can as I will try to rack up my vacation between now and then. I plan on getting someone to come to the house to take care of my LO during the day, not really sure about the live in idea. My best friend has an awesome live in which does make us actually consider but for now I will try to get someone to come in everyday at our house. I'll probably get them to start while I'm on maternity leave. Hopefully I will find the perfect person.


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## rebecca822

Yesterday and today the nausea level dropped considerably. Now I'm making myself crazy that maybe something is wrong. Oh how I hate all of this!!! My mind is set up to see disappointment and I can't wait till Thursday's scan to know that everything is alright &#128549;


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## Prayingforno1

rebecca822 said:


> Yesterday and today the nausea level dropped considerably. Now I'm making myself crazy that maybe something is wrong. Oh how I hate all of this!!! My mind is set up to see disappointment and I can't wait till Thursday's scan to know that everything is alright &#128549;

I know right I drove myself crazy last week over the same thing can't wait until we have our scans so we can have more peace of mind but the nausea now makes me want to be home in my bed not here at the office struggling to focus and do my work. I am trying not to complain about the sickness-I waited so long for this but I just don't feel like myself just feel blah.


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## rebecca822

Prayingforno1 said:


> rebecca822 said:
> 
> 
> Yesterday and today the nausea level dropped considerably. Now I'm making myself crazy that maybe something is wrong. Oh how I hate all of this!!! My mind is set up to see disappointment and I can't wait till Thursday's scan to know that everything is alright &#128549;
> 
> I know right I drove myself crazy last week over the same thing can't wait until we have our scans so we can have more peace of mind but the nausea now makes me want to be home in my bed not here at the office struggling to focus and do my work. I am trying not to complain about the sickness-I waited so long for this but I just don't feel like myself just feel blah.Click to expand...

So last week I felt really sick. Now not as much. I feel like calling doc and asking if I come come in earlier for my scan


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## Prayingforno1

rebecca822 said:


> Prayingforno1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> rebecca822 said:
> 
> 
> Yesterday and today the nausea level dropped considerably. Now I'm making myself crazy that maybe something is wrong. Oh how I hate all of this!!! My mind is set up to see disappointment and I can't wait till Thursday's scan to know that everything is alright &#128549;
> 
> I know right I drove myself crazy last week over the same thing can't wait until we have our scans so we can have more peace of mind but the nausea now makes me want to be home in my bed not here at the office struggling to focus and do my work. I am trying not to complain about the sickness-I waited so long for this but I just don't feel like myself just feel blah.Click to expand...
> 
> So last week I felt really sick. Now not as much. I feel like calling doc and asking if I come come in earlier for my scanClick to expand...

If it gives you peace of mind go for it. You don't want to be a nervous wreck stressing yourself out.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - If it makes you feel any better at all, I haven't had any morning sickness at all (7w1d w/ twins)! I think it is fairly common to have MS come and go. When I start to worry, I just remind myself that I haven't had any spotting/bleeding with cramping so there aren't any signs that anything is wrong. Also, if something is wrong there is nothing I can do about it anyway so it's a good time to trust God's plan for me! I don't know if this will help, because it is so hard not to worry. Hugs to you either way.


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## Rq120

2have - are you having twins?


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## Rq120

Rq120 said:


> 2have - are you having twins?

Never mind, it looks like you have your first US on June 30th. :)


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## rebecca822

Rq- in theory I wish I could have such faith but life has taught me otherwise.

I called my reg ob and he fit me in for a scan today at noon. Only 2 hours left to worry :)

If today I hear that everything is ok then I'll be ok to wait till scan on Thursday.

Rq- both my miscarriages were missed miscarriages meaning you go for routine scan and then are told there's no heartbeat. So every time I go to a scan I expect to hear that news. I never had cramping or spotting..


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## Myshelsong

Rebecca that is awful and my complete nightmare. 
I hope your scan today comes quickly with great news for sure. Sending you positive vibes!!!


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## rebecca822

Rq120 said:


> Rq120 said:
> 
> 
> 2have - are you having twins?
> 
> Never mind, it looks like you have your first US on June 30th. :)Click to expand...

I thought the same thing! lol.
2have- were waiting for your scan ;)


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## Fern81

So I have 1 healthy embie on board! Hb 150 bmp, 1,23 cm long, measuring exactly 7w3d as he/she should.


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## Fern81

Sorry you are so stressed rebecca. I told my dr today before the scan that I had no real symptoms and he looked very worried (maybe just the way I interpreted it) but all is perfect. I've also heard that we get used to the levels of hormones so during some stages we might not feel too sick. Xx


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## Myshelsong

Yay Fern!!


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## Prayingforno1

Fern81 said:


> So I have 1 healthy embie on board! Hb 150 bmp, 1,23 cm long, measuring exactly 7w3d as he/she should.

OMG that's awesome!!! Congrats Fern


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## Fern81

Thanks girls! Xx


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## froggyfrog

Congrats fern!


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## rebecca822

Congrats fern!!

I'll update you guys shortly, I'm in the waiting room :)


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## Prayingforno1

Yay lots of scans today-we'll be waiting Rebecca.


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## boopin4baby

I'm so happy for you Fern!! Congratulations!! :happydance:

becca - I'm sending you bucket loads of positive vibes!! GL hun!! xx


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## rebecca822

We have two great heartbeats! 122 and 129
Both are measuring accurately. 
Sigh of relief!


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## Fern81

Yeeeyyyy rebecca! Thanks everyone :)


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## boopin4baby

Such a blessed thread we have here. Just waiting on 2have and bee's scans!! :hugs:


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## froggyfrog

What a relief Rebecca! 

Tomorrow is my second scan! I can't wait to see how my guy is doing in there! Me and dh call him "the man"


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## Rq120

Yay Fern good news. 

I'm glad you feel better Rebecca.


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## Prayingforno1

Yey Rebecca-now you can relax :) When is your next scan?

Please oh please let Friday hurry up and get here for my scan!!


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## rebecca822

My next scan is Thursday. Now I have a much better outlook on the week to come! 
Thanks for all your support ladies!


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## 2have4kids

Oh Fern & Rebecca this is fabulous news! I'm so happy for you both! :bunny::bunny::wohoo::dance::dance:

I can't wait for my scan. I can't believe how long I have to wait, it's driving me bonkers already!!


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## beemeck

So excited for all of this wonderful news ! And oh my, so many scans on the 30th!!! 10 more days...we can do this !!


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## froggyfrog

I found him on my doppler! For just a few minutes, I put the wand down to grab my phone to record it, but then I couldn't find him again. Super excited!


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## rebecca822

froggyfrog said:


> I found him on my doppler! For just a few minutes, I put the wand down to grab my phone to record it, but then I couldn't find him again. Super excited!

No way, that's awesome!! I was thinking of getting one. Worried would cause more harm than good ;)


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## froggyfrog

You just have to keep in mind that the dopplers don't always pick it up, and it doesn't mean anything if you don't hear it. I have tried every day since it came in and just heard him for the first time. I'm sure it will be another week before I can pick it up again. But luckily I'll hear him at my scan tomorrow


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## Fern81

Aaah froggy that's super exciting! I loved listening to the hb yesterday, luckily dh recorded it; I don't think I'll get a doppler and my next scan is 5 weeks away :#! Hoping for all good news at your scan today. How often will you be scanned?

Aaahh beemeck and 2have, hope time flies until the 30th. X


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## Fern81

Afm- sooooo fatigued today. I think it's because "the big stress" before yesterday's scan is over. Still not completely over the flu but I did start exercising again today. And TOTAL baby brain! I feel so confused lol just need a holiday!


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## froggyfrog




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## froggyfrog

Here is my little guy! He looks perfect! His hb is 170 and he was kicking his little legs. He is measuring 2 days ahead. The second picture is a 3d one. 

Fern my RE does a scan every 2 weeks until you graduate. So I'll have one more in 2 weeks and then I graduate to my ob


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## rebecca822

Lovely scan froggy, really looks like a little baby already! 

My re does weekly scans until you graduate which is usually around 10 weeks.

Any of you ladies coffee drinkers? I always have my morning coffee and decided to cut it out. It's already 4-5 days but finding it so hard to concentrate at work without it.


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## Rq120

My first US was at 6 weeks and I go back every 2 weeks x 2 more (at 8 weeks and at 10 weeks) then I transition to my OB. I go again June 30th (with several other ladies in this group)


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## boopin4baby

froggy - Your little man's absolutely adorable!! Thanks for sharing, put a big smile on my face. :hugs:


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## Prayingforno1

Froggy your scan is so adorbs-congrats!! 

Over the past few weeks I've noticed my face has been breaking out much more than normal and this morning DH pointed out I have some on my neck/chest now:(. Please share your pregnancy safe beauty regimens so I can have the oh so coveted pregnancy glow :)


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## froggyfrog

Praying, I just use face wash and when I get out of the shower I moisturize with coconut oil. I think breaking out is a sign of a girl.


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## froggyfrog

I also rub coconut oil on my belly in the morning and I use belly butter at night. Stay away stretch marks!


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## Prayingforno1

rebecca822 said:


> Lovely scan froggy, really looks like a little baby already!
> 
> My re does weekly scans until you graduate which is usually around 10 weeks.
> 
> Any of you ladies coffee drinkers? I always have my morning coffee and decided to cut it out. It's already 4-5 days but finding it so hard to concentrate at work without it.

Rebecca I was a daily coffee drinker but cut it out when we started stimming. I bought some decaf coffee but haven't even been drinking that. I have been so tired a nice cup of REAL coffee would be so good right now lol


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog said:


> I also rub coconut oil on my belly in the morning and I use belly butter at night. Stay away stretch marks!

Didn't know breakout is a sign of a girl! I probably need to go to a natural health store to get some products for my face because it only seems to be getting worse and making me feel even more blah. 

I use palmers tummy cocoa butter on my tummy, breasts and bum in the morning and just an oil at night. Hope it keeps the stretch marks away.


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## rebecca822

Hi, so quiet today! Anyone have a scan today or anything exciting?
I'm already anxious for my scan tomorrow. Why is it that I just wait for bad news.
Froggie, I'm a little jealous you did PGD. Wish we would've just splurged for it..


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## beemeck

I'm mainly just holding my breath until the 30th! keeping up with all you ladies but I don't have much to contribute. I'm like you rebecca - constantly preparing myself for failure :dohh:


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca I'm sure everything will be great tomorrow! You just saw them and they were great! 
I would definitely recommend pgd to anyone. It was worth the extra money just knowing that he is healthy in there. And it was definitely a perk getting to know his sex so early. I really haven't freaked out too much about whether or not he was thriving in there. I have had my moments of course, but just knowing that most losses are caused by chromosomal issues, and he has none definitely made me feel better


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## 2have4kids

Froggy you're lucky to have had pgd done. I'm with Bee and cpunting down the days till the 30th. I've been doing my cheapie tests that I got off ebay 5+ years ago (100 for $5) and the test line is always darker than the control so that keeps me sane. And my 9 month old keeps me busy:thumbup:


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## Rq120

Nothing exciting here. Hubby and I decided to take a day off together today. It's been nice because we are catching up on housework and just being lazy. We both woke up with headaches this morning and I slept in til 10am.


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## rebecca822

Rq- feel better. Enjoy you day off
My sister in law is coming with her two kids for the weekend so it'll be really nice. Her son is the same age as my daughter and they play nicely together. We'll take them to the pool. I'm really looking forward.


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## Myshelsong

Sounds like a good weekend Rebecca! Good luck on your scan tomorrow very excited for you 

I am trying to finish this wedding from last month, I am procrastinating a lot because I'm feeling really sick and I just don't want to do it. It is my dad's birthday tomorrow so I might go over there and have a birthday lunch with him. Doctors appointment isn't until Friday, not sure when she will schedule an ultrasound but I have requested one


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## rebecca822

Myshelsong- I'm sure you can get them to do an ultrasound! 
Sorry you're feeling crappy :(


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## Prayingforno1

Hi Myshelong sorry to hear you're feeling bad hope you feel better and can make that birthday lunch.

2 more days until my scan!! I can't wait! Nervous and excited all at once.


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## Fern81

Praying - I also can't wait for your scan :) You will basically be as far along as I was on Monday ( maybe a day ahead) and I hope you get to see and hear the heartbeat!

Rebecca and Myshel - I hope all is perfect at your next appointments.

Has anyone else had cramping after a transvaginal ultrasound? Geez I had period-like cramping on Monday night which actually woke me up, and then continued into Tuesday but has thankfully subsided. I googled and found a LOT of women complaining about the same thing. 

Today I burst out in tears for the first time since I've gotten my first positive test. It all just became so real. As if the realization of the MIRACLE is starting to register. I'm also sooooooo tired and hungry; I think I'm a bit more fatigued than I would have been if I'd not STILL been struggling with the flu. But feeling fine otherwise. Oh and baby brain is SO REAL lol I'm finding it harder than ever to think and type in English; and when I'm teaching I struggle to switch between English and my native language even though I've been doing it for years and years, hahaha!

Ooohh and if I lie on my back I can feel the area between my hips getting harder & a bit more pronounced (can feel it through the bloating) and I'm hoping it's my uterus that I'm feeling :).


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## rebecca822

Fern- so interesting you say that. Monday after my ultrasound I felt cramping and I was like, thanks god I just went and everything is alright because otherwise I would think this cramping means a miscarriage. Didn't even register that the cramping was a result of the ultrasound. Hmm.
I have an hour and half until I see my babies again and I am excited and anxious!
I think I also have baby brain. Totally forgetting such simple things!


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## Rq120

I haven't had cramping from the US but I still have cramping on and off. It is less than what it was a few weeks ago, and some of it might be the progesterone suppositories?? It doesn't worry me because some days I also have weird pressure and absolutely no spotting so I contribute it to my uterus growing (esp with twins).


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## Prayingforno1

Lucky you Rebecca-you get to see your babies again!! Sorry you ladies have been experiencing cramping after your us. 

I was fine all week but now today I can't stop thinking about the scan and praying everything is going well. I thought the infertility roller coaster was a ride but this pregnancy one is just as rough!


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## froggyfrog

Myshel I hope you feel better soon.

Rebecca gl at your scan! I'm jealous you get two scans in a week! 

Fern, I haven't had cramping from US, but like RQ I have had stretching pains. Yesterday I kept getting the sharp pain right down the middle, so I used my doppler and found him really quick, he kept moving around and I was chasing him with the wand lol. And I definitely have baby brain going on too. I'm tapering off of my pio! I am only doing them every other night for a week and then I'm done! So excited about that. And at 12 weeks I stop my baby aspirin and metformin. I'm only 3 weeks away from being a normal pregnant lady!


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## beemeck

that's a good heads up about the cramping post TV US. I would have prob been freaking out. I'm already very nervous about the TV during pregnancy since last pregnancy it was the TV that made me hemorrhage since the sac was in my cervix and the wand had made contact with it. so def just want to get the whole thing over with. 

I'm also having a ton of stretching, pulling and round ligament pain. I couldn't believe when I looked up the def of RLP and it was exactly what I described to my DH! sharp pains every time I roll over in bed. I still haven't been sleeping well and wake every time I turn, but I'm getting used to it. 

and pregnancy brain at 5 weeks is totally a thing. I'm honestly forgetting everything!! wtf :dohh:


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, I've never had cramping after a tv us but I'm sure it can happen! Last night I had pink streaking and a little this morning. It's freaking me out so I'm going to make a GP appointment and see if I can't get an early scan. I've had too many mc's to sit tight till Thursday next week! 
A friend who's had her twins last year said she doesn't know one woman who's had twins who hasn't had some sort of streaking/uterine irritation with 2 embies. We'll see how it goes. Maybe there's only 1 in there and the other is causing this? It's not bloody thankfully but enough pink to get my attention and get horizontal:blush:


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## froggyfrog

Keep us updated 2have! That's scary!


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## Rq120

Froggy - I am so jealous! I'm taking estrogen by mouth and progesterone vaginal suppositories 3 times a day. I'm so over it. I can't wait until I'm a "normal" pregnant woman without (at least) the suppositories. I might be done with mine in 3 weeks too. I think the RE will release me in 3 weeks and prob stop the meds then (at 10 weeks). Time will tell. 

We are telling my in laws tonight that I'm pregnant. Everyone is excited and we have a big group tagging along for dinner because no one wants to miss my mother in law's reaction. We have hubby, sister in law (who is currently living with us), and then my two best friends (they are a couple). My best friends found out that we were telling MIL and they HAD to come! Needless to say we are all very close and they might as well be a part of the family. So tonight should be interesting. I'm not worried about telling them early because they are my main support system AND I don't know how much longer my sister in law can keep it a secret. She is bursting at the seams.


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## beemeck

thinking of you 2have! :hugs::hugs::hugs: FX all is well :)


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## Fern81

Hope you get an early appointment 2have!

Rebecca - hope you can post a piccie :)

Rq - enjoy tonight! You should totally get someone to record it :). I wish we had told some people face to face but I have been telling everyone over the phone/whatsapp. Well I told one of my students' mom today and she burst out in tears; such an emotional moment. I am DEFINITELY planning a gender reveal party! DH will just have to keep his mouth shut this time lol :)

I've also had RL pain since 5 weeks, posterior pelvic pain from relaxin, now my hips are starting to pain especially when I cough lol I feel like an old lady! At least I know it's a normal hormonal response so I can happily deal with it.

Don't you ladies wish you could be around 20 weeks pregnant for the whole 9 months? 2nd trimester, not too much sickness, more energy, baby is kicking, you already know the gender, bump not too huge.... sigh it sounds idyllic :)


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## rebecca822

My two babies look great. I'll post a pic when I get home.
 



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## Rq120

Awe, so cute Rebecca!


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## Prayingforno1

Nice Rebecca they look nice and comfy! Were you able to hear both heartbeats today? I believe last time they were only able to pick up one?


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## boopin4baby

becca - Your twins are super cute!! xx


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## 2have4kids

Lovely photo! Were you able to see/hear the heartbeats?


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## rebecca822

Thanks ladies! Yes, two awesome heartbeats!!

2have- I had light spotting when I was pregnant with my daughter. She's almost 4 now :)

Rq- are you telling her that it's twins??


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## froggyfrog

Congrats Rebecca! Glad everything looks good!


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## Rq120

Rebecca - yes we are telling her it is twins. I figured that if something happens to one of them, I would want support from my in-laws so there is no harm in telling them it is twins also.


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## 2have4kids

Ok the good doctor gave me a scan in an hour. Drinking water! DH & LO are coming too.


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## rebecca822

2have- that's great. Please update us!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, it's twins for us with 2 healthy heartbeats:bunny::bunny:


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## froggyfrog

Congrats 2have! We have a lot of twins!


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## rebecca822

Yay!!! That is awesome!

Can't believe how many twins we have


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## Myshelsong

Rebecca that is an adorable scan! Glad the spotting was nothing.

Omg 2have!!! Two little babies snuggled in. Congratulations

I am really impressed with this twin thread lol
For the twin ladies, how many embryos did you transfer on the transfer date? Just curious.

Lunch with dad was great, mom and my sister came and it was nice to chat with everyone. Thankfully I wasn't nauseous this afternoon, so I can safely say the nausea is from my vitamins. I am going to switch them to something else and see what happens. I can't wait for my next scan, it just means I am closer to telling everyone. Next Drs appointment is tomorrow, but not sure where or when the scan will be. Don't think there is one at the office I am going to now that I am with my reg doctor before being transfered to my new Obgyns.... So many Drs!


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## 2have4kids

We transferred 2 Myshelsong, 1 expanded and 1 hatching grade A blasts.


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## rebecca822

Transferred 2 embryos. Don't know what quality they were


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## boopin4baby

2have - Congratulations on your twin pregnancy!!
I'm so excited for you and your family!! :happydance::happydance:


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## Rq120

Congrats 2Have!!! Glad you didn't have to wait another week.


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## Fern81

Congrats a million 2have!! You are well on your way to your 4 kids now; so amazing! 

Yep lots of babies here with our little group; would have been so nice if we could have gotten them together for playdates etc :)


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## Fern81

Does everyone want to find out their baby/babies' gender? Or is someone Team Yellow?


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## Rq120

It was fun telling my in laws yesterday. My MIL cried and they were both so happy. My FIL said "I'm going to have my hands full". They will be awesome support because they have been foster parents to over 50 foster kids over the years and have been waiting forever for grandkids.


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## rebecca822

Rq that's great in sure they were excited.

Fern- I think we will find out the genders.


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## 2have4kids

Ahhh RQ, I <3 moments like that xx
Fern we always wait, team yellow all the way! It's going to make it hard to name them, coming up with 2 boy first & middle names, 2 girl and if it's a boy/girl we'll just chose our fav of each. It was hard enough to come up with a girl & a boy mame with our first LO...but it all came together in the hospital room!


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## rebecca822

2have, wow! Can't believe you will wait. I don't like surprises and with my DD we waited but my gut told me it was a girl. It's not for my nerves &#128540;


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## beemeck

team yellow here all the way!!! I'm actually super nervous that a tech might slip up and tell me at some point - I really, really don't want to know until birth time!

Lol 2have DH and I already have 2 first and middle names picked out in the rare event that we are somehow having twin girls :haha: but have NADA for a boy :dohh:


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## froggyfrog

I can't believe you will both be team yellow!!! You both are going to drive me crazy lol! I'm excited for some gender reveals to start rolling in! 

We picked two boy, and two girl names a long time ago. We weren't sure if we would ever end up with twins so wanted those back up names.


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## beemeck

lol froggy. good for you coming up with all those names! I guess when we try so long, we have lots of time to think! my DH wouldn't discuss names with me when TTC. I think it was too much for him - emotionally he couldn't do it. 

did you narrow your two boy names down to the one froggy?


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## froggyfrog

Yes! This little boy is Gage Matthew!


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## beemeck

aw I love it! it is so nice to have a name picked out before birth. That's the one thing I'll be bummed about not finding out. feel so bad always just referring to it as "it". :haha:


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## Rq120

I'm definitely finding out. I've never even considered not knowing until birth. I don't like surprises. LOL.


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## Myshelsong

I could not imagine waiting to find out the gender, super crazy but good on you ladies! 

That is a great name, love it. 

Drs appointment today was pretty boring, I have a requisition for bloods and ultrasound for dating scan. Booked my appointment for Sunday at 1pm, so I hope they let me see the screen this time and give me a picture if all is well! Glad it is on a weekend, that means hubs can come this time! Fingers crossed we see a healthy little bean in there. So nervous, but excited. My nurse assured me not to be worried, so I am going to try not to be worried.


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## froggyfrog

Myshel only 2 more days!!! How exciting! I can't wait to see a picture of your little bean!


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## Prayingforno1

Hey guys had my scan today and got to see the heartbeat omg it was so amazing. I was a nervous wreck before I saw it. Our bean is measuring right on schedule and I have another scan in 2 weeks!

We will definitely be finding out the gender. The suspense alone might kill me if we went team yellow lol.


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## Fern81

So happy for you, praying! Waiting for a scan is a bit nerve wracking :) glad all is ok. 

Myshel- whaaat, why don't they let you look at the screen? Hope you get to see your bubs this time xx

We are definitely finding out the gender too. Hopefully at the 20 week anatomy scan, which is still really far off lol.


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## 2have4kids

Fern, we weren't able to look either. She said I can tell you how many sacs but I csn't tell you what's in them. That's when I say oh no worries start rambling off about my looong arduous 6+ year, 7 ivf's/iui/adoption list ttc journey with immune issues and then shortly thereafter she spills that there are 2 healthy poles, yolks, and heartbeats with no sch :rofl:

Praying congratulations! I don't blame you guys for wanting to find out the gender. The last month of my last pregnancy not knowing almost drove me crazy!


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## Prayingforno1

I find it strange they won't show you the screen. In the office I go to they even have a monitor on the wall for the patient to see what's going on as the Doctor explains what you're seeing


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## Rq120

Working a PRN job today to make extra money to pay off this IVF stuff!! I left my job last Oct and stayed on PRN. I haven't worked here in 3.5 months and it's been a challenge to pick it back up. But the pay is good because it is hourly and I get weekend differential. I work in 2 weeks too (Sunday only) so between this weekend and the Sunday in 2 weeks I can pay off 13% of the balance of my IVF balance. Worth it! We would like to have it gone before the babies come.


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## 2have4kids

Prayingforno1 said:


> I find it strange they won't show you the screen. In the office I go to they even have a monitor on the wall for the patient to see what's going on as the Doctor explains what you're seeing

Yes, there was a tv screen on the wall at our clinic too. Until you get the 12 week nauchal translucency scan here they don't want to deal with early upset over mc & other problems. They send you to a maternity-only scanning on the 12 week whereas the early scans are techs that deal with everything in general. I think it's to protect the workers from in-house melt downs.


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## Prayingforno1

Ok I got it makes sense


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## Myshelsong

We will see what happens tomorrow. I feel sick as a dog today, had a photo session this morning and didn't know if I could make it though. My stomach is off, and for the first time in 8 weeks had horrible loose bowels. Sorry tmi, but I was sick!
That and it was so hot, I could barely stand after. Trying to keep cool now and feeling a Bit better but scared for the ultrasound tomorrow. Maybe I should cancel, maybe I lost it ..... Ah I am freaking out. :cry: stupid hormones


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## 2have4kids

Stay hydrated Myshelsong, sorry you're feeling crappy!


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## rebecca822

Myshel- sorry you're not feeling well. I've been super constipated this week. I feel so blocked up. (Sorry tmi) doctor told me to take collace.


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## Fern81

Sorry myshel, that sounds awful especially combined with hormones! Don't cancel your scan hun you will feel a lot better once you've seen your baby xx

Our scans in the gynaecologist or reproductive specialist's office is ALWAYS done by the dr, no matter if they're just checking for cysts or doing a general exam or pregnancy u/s; we always get to look and dr explains everything as he/she goes along. I love it. I always point to EVERYTHING and have a billion questions! For our first scan we obviously saw baby and saw/heard the heartbeat; dr also did a 3d scan and another type where blood circulation is shown as contrasting colours. 

Have a happy weekend mommas!


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## Rq120

I'm looking forward to my US this Thursday. I'm 8 weeks today and have almost no symptoms. My boobs barely hurt anymore, acid reflux is down to 1-2 times per week instead of everyday all day, constipation is still there but maybe a bit better. I have chronic constipation so it's hard to compare. I have been feeling lazy but not fatigued. Like I don't want to do anything, but I can't nap. 

I'm torn between feeling really lucky and trying not to feel too lucky in case something is really wrong. I'm SURE you gals know what I mean. If all is well on Thursday, then I can feel better about being "lucky". Also, I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. Meaning I don't want to take advantage of being symptom free and then BAM I'm hit with crazy MS. Like I said, I'll feel a bit better after Thursday, although I'm keeping myself calm. 

I'm feeling a bit hormonal and I am EXTREMELY annoyed today. I don't know if it is completely justified or if the hormones are causing me to overreact some. It's so hard to tell! Last night I drove Hubby, sister in law, and my two best friends to a friend's party. I had to be at the hospital at 7am this morning for work so they all agreed to leave about 9:30 so I could drive them home and still have time to get in bed at a decent hour. We have an SUV with third row seating so someone had to sit in the third row which are smaller like "jump seats" in a truck. About half way home best friend #1 (male) started to be a big jerk and complain about the back seat. He kept going on and on and finally I was like "Well next time you can drive yourself to the party if you don't like your accommodations". Admittedly, I did snap a bit, but I was tired of him being so thankless. Here I am at 10:30pm driving your drunk butt home in MY car with MY gas (they NEVER pitch in for gas money) and all you can do is complain. So because he was too drunk, my comment caused him to get mad and go on for 10 mins about how he would drive home drunk and blah blah blah. Like a future mom wants to hear how you will be irresponsible and put other people and families at harm. I almost blew my top - I was fuming!!! Instead, I turned the radio up really loud so I didn't have to hear him. Today, I'm still steaming about the whole incident.
Sorry, I know you all didn't want to hear that but it sure felt better to get it out and to a group of women all going through the same (hormonal) stuff.


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## 2have4kids

Rq sorry you went through that. I feel exactly the way you do, no symptoms, my boobs aren't anything, no ms nothing. Always worries me. It's a sign of our spoiled times when we have to put up with bad attitudes like your friends. And I don't even think it's age related. It's self entitlement, graciousless, thankless stupidity. We had a group of my DH's business partners over for dinner and cooked thdm this amazing meal, paired with great wine and these really cool whiskey cocktail apertifs with charred cedar wood glass covers. The guy complained first because there was too much food and do we always serve such big portions (umm buddy maybe take less on your flippen plate?) I had made 3 salads because my mom was vegan and so there was alot of food to ensure she was able to feel satisfied. And then he complained that he was so full he couldn't fit his apertif in, and he's a whiskey lover. It wasn't a jovial complaint, it was I'm going to whine my ass off and really try to annoy the f-out of you complaining. I told him that MacKinley has extra pacifiers if he needs one and maybe his wife should take him home to bed. 

I know women can be like this too so I don't want to sound sexist but omg, sometimes I wonder how some men never grow up!


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## Rq120

2have - I enjoyed your story. Dinner sounded amazing. I can't believe people are so thankless anymore! My parents taught me better than that!! Again, I'm sure the extra hormones don't help. I end up saying something whereas before I would have just kept my mouth shut.


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## 2have4kids

Rq120 said:


> I end up saying something whereas before I would have just kept my mouth shut.

I don't believe people respect you when they're outright rude to you and you keep your mouth shut. At work there's a time and a place however we teach people how we wish to be treated and women need to be more assertive in commanding respect these days. The older I get the easier it becomes. Good/appropriate come backs are a skill:haha:


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## rebecca822

Rq and 2have- I also have very few symptoms. I get queezy here and there but barely anything. I'm terrified as anything that it will end. Thursday is my next scan (same day as yours Rq) and I'll just hope that I hear good news then. I'm not going to spend my week anxious and worried. For now I'm pregnant and hopefully Thursday will bring good news.


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## 2have4kids

Looking forward to both of your scan news on Thursday. I have my first prenatal appt. on Thursday, she moved it up from July 21 when she heard we're having twins. I think it's a pelvic & overall health & bloods with a boot then afterwards off to the OB.


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## beemeck

My first scan is Thursday. I'm feeling pretty terrified since I've had nothing but horrible news at my precious pregnancy scans. Just got to make it through this week and even though I know I'm not in the clear, I'll feel so much better if all goes well then. Not really having any symptoms besides sore boobs and some fleeting sickness.


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## rebecca822

Lots going on this Thursday!

Beemeck- I feel in your pain. It's also a bit early for you to have symptoms. I didn't get my nausea and sensitivity to smell until almost 6 weeks


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## Fern81

Myshel- hope you are feeling better & thinking of you after your scan. X

I also have very few symptoms, as far as ms I just gag a little when brushing my teeth and feel slightly queasy (car sick) unless I eat all the time lol. I'm not eating nearly as healthy as I did before & during ivf because I'm constantly hungry... of course now I'm starting to worry about gd (do we ever STOP worrying lol!?) Boobs only sore if hubby squeezes them. Fatigue. I keep forgetting I'm pregnant! 

Looking forward to everyone's scans on Thursday, fx for the best possible news!! My next one is only on the 25th of July which is forever away.


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## Fern81

Goodness I laughed at your stories about rude friends/colleagues! I would never complain if someone went to the trouble of cooking a lavish dinner or driving me home!? I'm actually jealous of that meal 2have hehe! My brother can be VERY rude to me sometimes & might even comment about my marriage right in front of dh & I... I can never think of a clever comeback in these emotional situations... only afterward of course.
Many people don't have manners anymore :( it's all about personal satisfaction.


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## Myshelsong

Hope everyone had a good weekend!
I can't wait to see all the beautiful scans coming up. We have three on thursday, is that right?

Wow your rude friends are the pits. The meat guy sounds like an ass, who actually complains art pomp have food. Just take less you crazy person? Ps when can I come over for dinner, it all sounded delicious.

Dating scan #2 is complete! Little Peanut is sitting pretty with 175 hbpm which made me so excited. We got to see him on the screen and even got to take a picture. Once I get it off my phone I will share it. I was so freaked out right up too it, we are doing a garden project and of course it was super humid and hot out and I was trying not too do too much but probably did more than I should of. So I got queezy and faint, so I rushed in and took a cold bath too cool down. But looks like no damage was done.

We ended up telling my parents after lunch because they came over the weekend to help and I just couldn't keep it in. They were thrilled, told me I am no longer aloud to do anything outside, then yelled at me for helping in the garden earlier! Lol
If it was up to them I think I would be put on bed rest.


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## froggyfrog

Your friends sound horrible. Fern is your brother married? I would have a comeback ready in my head.

Myshel, be careful! !! It's to hot to be out there too long! I get the same way, so I avoid the heat like the plague! I'm glad you got to see the baby, and got some relief! 

I put on a dress that is a little tight in my belly, and it looks like I have a bump. I know it's probably mostly bloat, but it seems too shaped to be all bloat!


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## Prayingforno1

Congrats Myshelsong on a great scan! I am sure once I tell my parents as well they won't want me lift a fork lol.

Yey-more scans this week I can't wait to get the udpates.

I feel nausea all day now and this weekend was no different. We moved a few things this weekend into our new home. It was extremely hot and although I didn't do any lifting I was so heated I drank a ton of water. I really just wanted to stay in bed all day but DH insisted we move at least a few things.

My breasts are now even huger than before-didn't think it was possible but yup it happened :). I will definitely need a new bra size in a few weeks (maybe sooner)-even the bras I had that had a bit of room are snug sigh.

Have a great day everyone!


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## rebecca822

Praying- my sister in law who knows I'm pregnant (DH doesn't know I told her) told me over the weekend that my boobs look huge! I'm a DDD as it.


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## froggyfrog

I'm in the big boobs club too. DDD here as well. My bras are tight. My boobs are spilling out of the cup. I'll be heading to lane Bryant soon.


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## Rq120

I'm a DD and I'm not looking forward to moving to DDD


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## Prayingforno1

Sigh I am a D but at this rate only God knows where I'll end up. I will get measured when I do go bra shopping for new ones.


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## beemeck

omg I'm the complete opposite. I'm getting boobs for the first time and so far, I'm not a fan. I didn't realize those could get in the way of things! :haha:

So my DH told me that I already look pregnant. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, but I'm having a hard time buttoning my pants. I told one of my clients last week and she said "I saw your belly but didn't want to say anything!". huh?! I was shocked! she is super nice and naive and would have totally just meant it. She thought I was farther along and I just kind of played along because I could NOT tell her I was 5 weeks!! so I'm not sure what's going on. wondering if it's just because I'm super small that it's noticeable right away, but I'm a little worried what the next 8 months will bring...!


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## rebecca822

I think by the end of my pregnancy with my DD or maybe when I was nursing I was a size H. I didn't know bras go up to that size! I honestly didn't think I looked that big.


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## Fern81

What a relief myshel, congrats!! <3

Oh wow I have small boobs and they haven't gotten bigger AT ALL. I'm so disappointed hehe! Hope they still catch up. 

My belly however, is huge. I've had a bloating bump since starting ivf (from the stims) and it never went away, just got bigger! I was small to begin with and now I look about 5 month pregnant! Hubby mentioned that I will never be one of those ladies on "I didn't know I was pregnant" :/ and it bothered me a lot.... BUT then dr said most of the swelling is due to my right ovary still being super swollen & all the follies still very large. 
So I've told dh: the bump is all due to pregnancy! 
*I'm eating more carbs because I'm always ravenous
*swollen from progesterone 
*swollen ovary
*a little bit of growing uterus
....which after all are all due to the pregnancy :)


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## froggyfrog

This was this past weekend while I was getting ready to go on our date. I wore it proudly lol


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## Prayingforno1

Your bump i so cute froggy.

I'm the same as Fern-bloating since IVF cycle and never went down. Some of my work pants are getting a bit snug. I may buy the belly band thing so I can wear my regular pants as long as possible before buying any actual maternity ones.


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## 2have4kids

My boobs are normally size E34/36 and went up to GG with the last pregnancy. Then they died when she self-weaned at 6 months and went to a DD. They're slowly inflating again :haha: and I can fit most of my bras again. 

With the belly, it depends how tall you are, 1st or 2-3-4 pregnancy, and the amount of bloat. With my 1st at 32 weeks I posted a maternity photo on my fb and my sil posted ?? in response. Didn't realise I was even pregnant (we didn't tell people till late because I wasn't sure things would be ok). I'm 5'9 and didn't get really big. I already have a bit of a pooch right now and am not in as good of shape as I was going into pregnancy #1. And with twins I'm sure I'll have quite a bump!

This was the maternity photo that I got her ?? response from :-(


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## rebecca822

Froggy doesn't it make it feel so real? I keep feeling my tummy to see if it feels any harder but it feels the same. Right now I just look a bit flabby. I'm still 5 pounds overweight.
Fern- I've also been eating a ton of carbs. It's the only thing that I can stomach right now. It's painful since I just lost 23 pounds before getting pregnant and I stayed far away from carbs and sugar. Now that's all I eat. Oh well.
2have- some taller people can hide a bump really well. I started showing at 23-24 weeks with my DD and I was never huge. Im 5 ft 2 inches so kind of on the shorter side.


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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids-what a cute maternity shot! You were 32 weeks in the photo?


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## 2have4kids

Prayingforno1 said:


> 2have4kids-what a cute maternity shot! You were 32 weeks in the photo?

Yup, I tried to delay it longer but my photographer didn't want to chance an early delivery.


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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids said:


> Prayingforno1 said:
> 
> 
> 2have4kids-what a cute maternity shot! You were 32 weeks in the photo?
> 
> Yup, I tried to delay it longer but my photographer didn't want to chance an early delivery.Click to expand...

Wow you looked awesome!!


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## 2have4kids

I had GD and had to cut out carbs, they made me feel ill & heart pound / faint so I only would up gaining 24 lbs with her. She came out at 7 pounds 5 oz, thankfully not too big and a few days early. I'm sure I'll get GD again as my heart already feels weird when I eat sugary foods. It's ok with me, forces me to eat healthy, baby's need protein & the nutrition in veggies, not so much nutrition in bread, pasta, rice etc anyways.:thumbup:


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## Fern81

You look amazing in that pic 2have! And so do you myshel- that looks like baby :) I also wear my bump with pride (now) especially in front of strangers who don't know how far along I am lol!

ETA: Oops I meant FROGGY :)


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## Prayingforno1

I am also trying to be conscious of what I eat because my starting weight was not ideal. Thankfully my appetite has not increased and because of the nausea I have to remind myself I should eat something but I also find if I wait to long to eat, although I may not be hungry my energy level plummets.


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## Fern81

Eesh I really don't like eating carbs (have been cutting out carbs for years) but now I get really faint and dizzy if I don't! So I try to focus on oatmeal, sweet potato and whole grain bread & pasta but I definitely have been eating too many sweets :( trying to have fruit now when I crave that intense sweetness


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## rebecca822

I actually have been craving fresh cold fruit. Yum! Fresh cut melons and berries.


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## Myshelsong

Great bump shots ladies! You should wear it proudly.
Love the underwater ones that is super cool.

Thankfully my IVF bloat dropped back down after 3 weeks, and right now I am sitting pretty much normal. I am a hefty woman though, like big, but I am not concerned at all about bumps and bloats. Just healthy kid.i am about 5'6" but have a long torso and don't think I will start showing for awhile. My goal is not to gain anything, but we will see what happens and what my dr says. 

I did talk to my mom today and she let me know that she didn't get morning sickness like others do. Just occasional nausea from smells and what not, so now my lack of symptoms makes me feel ok. Maybe I just take after my mom! She also didn't have big boob changes until closer to birth. Like mine haven't jumped at all yet! Still sitting at a C cup


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## Myshelsong

Cold green grapes are my staple right now. So good!


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## froggyfrog

I have been putting blueberries in my cereal and I have fallen madly in love with smashing blackberries on a peanut butter sandwhich


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## Fern81

I guess it doesn't help that it's freezing cold winter here and all I want to eat are very warm foods lol! Really can't wait for September.


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## Rq120

It's funny how many big chested women are on here. DD and DDD's are not that common.

I don't have a bump, I'm just getting fat. lol. No, kidding. I'm really bloated but it isn't a cute round bump like in some of your pics, it just looks like I'm gaining weight. My pants are tight but still wearable. Today I didn't want to be in tight pants all day so I did the hairtye trick and it is actually working really well.

I'm trying to eat the healthiest I can. Some days I do better than others. I have gained some pounds already, but I really think it is a lot of bloat weight. My plan is just to eat the same through my pregnancy. I might gain some now, but I'm hoping that it will even out and towards the end the babies will gain weight but I won't. I'm starting out overweight so I should try to keep my gaining to a minimum.


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## beemeck

Here is my "what the heck is happening at 5 and a half weeks" photo. With my more than tripling hcg, I'm really hoping its more than one. But more likely than not, it's just massive bloat. I normally have a super flat tummy so I can def see why that girl made the belly comment ....
 



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## rebecca822

Wow we already have some nice bumps!

I noticed I have some light spotting. I'm not super worried but just a bit more anxious for Thursday's scan.


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## Prayingforno1

I agree with Rebecca, we really do have some nice bumps congrats ladies.

I am so tired, I feel like I could just stay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing. Pregnancy exhaustion has been hitting me from early on and doesn't seem to want to stop! Well I went from pretty much no appetite to an increase now-please pray for me lol. I had a 6inch veggie pattie sub from subway yesterday and after eating it I felt like I hadn't even eaten yet! By the time I got home I was so ravenous. I will have to stop at the supermarket and get some more fruits so I can have those with me when I get snacky so I don't end up at the vending machine here at work.


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## Fern81

Are you ok today Rebecca? X

Beemeck- love the "what the heck" bump lol mine looks much the same! Will post a pic if I can. :)

Today I went for a walk with my stomach sticking out (definitely NOT pulling it in while I'm exercising haha!) And these two youngish guys (I'm thinking early twenties?) were hanging over their fence when I walked past, smiling & calling... I wanted to burst out laughing and tell them I'm old, married and pregnant! Then again I had my headphones in and couldn't hear what they were saying, maybe they were actually mocking me/calling me fat because of the belly lol; I guess I'll never know and couldn't care less! It was just such a random event.

Do any of you keep a pregnancy journal (private/for baby's eyes one day)? I started recording voice notes and realised, as I started recording today's note, that I'd forgotten how far along I am pffff!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm still spotting but doctor said not to worry. I've had spotting in previous pregnancies so I know it's normal but I always like to ask anyways.
I told my husband that I've been overworking and I need to take it easy lol


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## Rq120

MD's office called and moved my US up to 11:30 on Thursday instead of the afternoon. Not a big deal to me, but hubby is happy because now he will join me on his lunch break and see the babies again. He told me today that he will be relieved to see them because he has been nervous. I was a little surprised by this statement. I asked him when he will start to feel less nervous and he said when he has healthy babies in his arms. Hubby is so cute. Sometimes I feel like he is the female in our relationship. I'm pretty calm and collected this pregnancy and he is the nervous one!


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## rebecca822

Rq- my hubby is the same. He is so nervous but he won't tell me that. He keeps it to himself because he doesn't want to make me more nervous.

My doctor said I can come tomorrow instead of Thursday for the scan. I'm anxious to see my babies again. I really can't wait to be further along so I can feel them kicking.


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> My doctor said I can come tomorrow instead of Thursday for the scan. I'm anxious to see my babies again. I really can't wait to be further along so I can feel them kicking.

Agreed, once their kicking they seem to have a fsir chance in life. I always felt she wanted out when she was kicking me. Would rub her and let her know she had to snuggle in for another few months :haha:


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## Myshelsong

Rebecca hope tomorrow goes well for you Hun. Are you on weekly scans for the whole pregnancy, or just 1st trimester?


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## rebecca822

Myshelsong said:


> Rebecca hope tomorrow goes well for you Hun. Are you on weekly scans for the whole pregnancy, or just 1st trimester?

I think until 12 weeks when I switch to my OB. Then they do monthly. Since its twins I'll ask them to do twice monthly.


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## 2have4kids

Ok, it's starting to happen again. I never get morning sickness but I get sick after meals when I eat a normal to small amount. For dinner I had kale salad (about a cup full) with 2 pickled asparagus while the chicken was on the bbq. Then an hour later 5 halves of baby roasty potatoes with greek yoghurt and 1/2 a chicken breast. I almost barfed, the urge was so strong I had to lay there praying to the sick gods to go away. That food / timing should not be too much! I was starving! We'd done a huge long hill walk at our favourite river/park, 5 hours out and needing food. This is the way it was with my last pregnancy, every meal had to be strung into 3 hour sessions to get it down without barfing. And when she started getting so big she was pushing my lungs up & kicking, I did lose my lunch a few times. But right now those embies are only the size of blueberries for crying out loud! How can they mess up my eating so badly! I find it really annoying. Anyone else experiencing this? Rant done.


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## Fern81

2have - I'm guessing it could be because it's twinnies. My sister had no symptoms with her first (just like me) and lots of nausea with her twins. Sorry hun! At least you have the common sense to know you need your nutrients & to do whatever it takes to get it down. Good for you, it's so frustrating when I read about ladies saying "oh I never had ANY protein/veg/fibre but just lived on ice cream for 5 months hahaha"..... ummmm you are depriving your baby of nutrients, at least try! I get ms but I don't get not caring/trying/thinking it's funny.

May I just say.... tomorrow must come already!! So many scans to look forward to!!! And rebecca yours is today?


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## CrazyDogLady

Hi ladies,

Can I (cautiously) join you guys?

I'm just over 6 weeks pregnant following FET. Have been experiencing varying levels of bleeding since bfp, hence the caution!

I've had moments of convincing myself it's over, but am feeling positive just now. Have an early scan booked next Tuesday so have fingers and toes crossed for that.

Hope you're all well :flower:


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## rebecca822

Just had my scan. Babies look great. Two strong heartbeats (155 and 162) and measuring to date.
I'll update with a picture when I get home.


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## beemeck

welcome crazydog! love the username :) I'm a crazy dog lady myself - no kids yet so she is my baby! :haha: wishing you best of luck and hope all is okay. I'm just a few days behind you :) 

rebecca - that's great news!!!!!! :happydance::happydance:

2have - do you no longer have your scan tomorrow since you went in earlier?

who else has a scan tomorrow besides me and rq?

I'm so, so anxious. eek.


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## Fern81

Very welcome crazydoglady!!! Whenever you're ready, let me know your EDD and I will add it to the front page for you. xx In the mean time I will at least add your name and keep everything crossed that you have a fantastic scan next week :). The more the merrier! I think we are all learning a lot from each other. 

Beemeck - uuuhhh hun you are in my thoughts for tomorrow, especially after your traumatic previous pregnancy. Update as soon as you can! I'm hoping and praying everything is perfect. x


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## Fern81

Phew Rebecca, love the good news each time. :)


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## Prayingforno1

Welcome crazydog and glad to hear you had a good scan Rebecca.

2have4kids-I have been having a tough time for the past 2 weeks-pretty much full days of nausea/exhaustion. I am also having to force myself to eat because I get nauseous when I don't eat and nauseous when I do eat so not a happy camper at the moment. I am loving icy/slushy drinks and try to snack on a few salted crackers to help with the nausea. During my last doctor's visit when he pulled out the ruler and showed me how small our little bean was I couldn't believe that something that small could be causing me so much bad feelings. The nurse recommended gravol but I am trying to hold off on taking anything if I really don't have to. I am really hoping that my symptoms taper down after the first trimester.


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## Myshelsong

Can't wait to see them Rebecca, glad everything is going well!

Welcome and congrats crazy dog lady, hope you have a healthy nine months :hugs:

I also have fur babies, my cat Lelu and my dog Calla. They are adorable, although getting annoying lately, always underfoot. Hubs thinks it is because they know.

Praying, hope the nausea is over soon for you. I get it in the afternoon, but not too bad most days. I just have to keep smacking. Carrots and grapes are my go too at this point, but just picked up some clementines and they look delicious!


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## Myshelsong

Fern, I forgot to update my due date after the dating scan, it is actually January 31. Can I get that changed on the front page? Although i keep dreaming about Jan 23 so we will see what happens there lol!


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## rebecca822

Praying- I'm eating lots of small meals often. Crackers and hummus, soup, cereal and milk, peanut butter sandwiches, etc. haven't touched real food in a few weeks.
Crazy dog- I remember you from the IVF/FET thread. Glad you joined us. I'm wishing you the best and hope you're here to stay!

If you look closely at my scan you can see the arm buds.
 



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## Rq120

rebecca822 said:


> If you look closely at my scan you can see the arm buds.

Too cute!!


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## Prayingforno1

I see the arms Rebecca-OMG so adorable.


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## froggyfrog

Adorable scan Rebecca! 

I can't wait to see scans today and tomorrow!!! 

2have, sorry your feeling so bad. Hopefully it only sticks around through first tri. 

Afm, I'm still feeling mostly good. I still get waves of nausea but they have seemed to calm down. I have had such a painful problem going poo. It's horrible. I have had to use those glycerin suppositories just to go, and can barely sit down because my booty hurts. No hemorrhoids, just a sore butt. Im 10 weeks today, I can't believe it. I have my final re appointment next tuesday. In just a few weeks I'll be in 2nd tri! Eeek!


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## rebecca822

Froggy- I've been having those problems too. Was so bad over the weekend. I took collace and it helped a bit.
Can believe you're 10 weeks already that's far! I'm so anxious to be out of my first trimester. I just want January to be here already!!


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## Fern81

Myshel- changed; crazy- added :)

Rebecca- oh wow little humans!! Totally adorable <3

I can't wait for my 12 week scan I think it will be soooo cool!

Eesh froggy that sounds terrible. So sorry for you!

I still have almost no food aversions (chicken now and then but that's nothing new), just nauseous when I don't eat so I guess I'm the lucky one. But then I did get smacked with acne and my boobs are still tiny lol; not so happy with those! :)


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## froggyfrog

Myshel, my Dr told me not to ever let anyone change my due dat, because we know exactly when I got pregnant. My scan was showing that I was 2 days ahead, but it was just the baby was measuring a little big. I wonder why they changed you?


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## rebecca822

Froggy- I agree with not changing due dates. We know exactly when we got pregnant.
I'm still Feb 10 but doctor won't let me go past January 27. 
Im not excited about being induced early but that's really a long way away so we'll see what happens until then.


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## 2have4kids

Crazydog welcome & congrats! I hope to bleeding stops for you, I know how scary it can be. I've mc'd lots and had bleeding also last week. Hopefully it'll slow down and give you time to enjoy pregnancy!

Rebecca the babies look like their smiling. And cute arm buds alright!

Praying, have you tried different foods to calm the nausea? Slurpies and crackers would send me off the rails with sugar rush & crashes making me feel sick. But I know everyone is different! I like snacking on fats & proteins, stuff that doesn't tend to spike blood sugar (which usually sends me straight to nausea): salted avacado, beef or Turkey jerky, yogurt (greek with more protein content than carb), cheese & antipasto, sweet peas, carrots, berries, little tuna/salmon can salads, if I could eat eggs I'd snack on salted boiled eggs, nuts, sea weed wakame snacks, I have to get some peanut butter for pbjs too. I've been drinking lots of coconut water as it really combats bloat. My DD loves it too and it's a juice I don't mind her having as there's no added sugar, a little better than apple juice.

Beemack yes you're right, they cancelled my scan tomorrow. It's just my prenatal GP appointment. I've rebooked the scan requisition for July 13 but I need to see if my doctor is ok with that. Not sure she'd approve if I'm not showing signs of distress (bleeding). I'll talk to her about the mental anguish of waiting after having so many ups & downs lol:haha:otherwise my next on is the 12 week NT & anatomy scan. That's ages away!

Froggy sorry about the constipation, btw what kind of iron are you takng? It's often the culprit of serious constipation. There's liquid Floradix or Spatone that's super easy to absorb & magically no constipation or indigestion. I do a morning feed for DD @ 4:00am and take it with EmergenC (vit C drink). Iron has to be taken 2 hours away from food as it binds to calcium & food hinders absorption. Many prenatals combine a non-heam iron with calcium stupidly and it does terrible things to pregnant ladies.

Hi to everyone else!


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## Myshelsong

They didn't change me. I was never told, I had to use an online calculator, but because we are IVF I got three different numbers on different sites, so I just picked one.
Now that I have a dating scan I want to use that number since it is probably more accurate.


----------



## Prayingforno1

2have4kids said:


> Praying, have you tried different foods to calm the nausea? Slurpies and crackers would send me off the rails with sugar rush & crashes making me feel sick. But I know everyone is different! I like snacking on fats & proteins, stuff that doesn't tend to spike blood sugar (which usually sends me straight to nausea): salted avacado, beef or Turkey jerky, yogurt (greek with more protein content than carb), cheese & antipasto, sweet peas, carrots, berries, little tuna/salmon can salads, if I could eat eggs I'd snack on salted boiled eggs, nuts, sea weed wakame snacks, I have to get some peanut butter for pbjs too. I've been drinking lots of coconut water as it really combats bloat. My DD loves it too and it's a juice I don't mind her having as there's no added sugar, a little better than apple juice.

I have tried snacking on some of those things as well but find one or 2 crackers and an icy juice or gingerale give me relief. I just came back from lunch with a friend and had a tuna salad and now feeling blah again. I get sick with pretty much anything I eat. My bean is really making working me hard lol. I love coconut water if I can get it fresh so will probably try that. I also brought some fruits to work today but definitely do not feel like eating those right now. I read that bananas and watermelon help with nausea so will pick some of those up this weekend. 

We are all troopers and I know we can get through this phase especially after going through IVF cycles and our infertility journeys. I really want to enjoy my pregnancy so the sooner I can get over this the sooner I can enjoy it!


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## froggyfrog

Just in case you were interested, I looked it up for you on the website I used that showed the same date as what my Dr told me. According to it your edd is Jan 29th. It shows you to be 9 weeks 3 days.


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## Myshelsong

Thanks froggy, that is pretty neat! 

Praying, I just had a tuna sandwich and I feel miserable now. I hate afternoon nausea, can't figure out how to totally get rid of it. Just got some bananas, going to try that.


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## Prayingforno1

Myshelsong please let me know if the banana gives you any relief-I may stop at the supermarket on the way home from work to give them a try.


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## rebecca822

I'm having lentil soup now and it's doing well for my tummy.

2have- I can't believe you have to wait so long for your next scan that's just torture!

My next scan is July 6.

I have the day off work for July 4 I'm super excited to stay in bed and relax!


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## Myshelsong

I don't know if it was just timing or the bananas but I do feel better, started feeling good about 1/2 hour later. I also drank a glass or two of water. I ate the banana very slowly. 

So jealous about the amount of scans you get rebecca!! Have a good day off when you get it.


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## froggyfrog

Dh is off sat, sun, and mon. So we are heading to spend the weekend with our friends. We have two dogs, Cashus and Syris, they will be kenneled. They love the place they go to!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca we'll see, July 13 will prob be the next scan if I have anything to do with it. I can't wait till August, I need to give work notice that I'm coming back early and would like to know they're still alive before I do so. Will let my doctor know this too.

Froggy enjoy the weekend & your friends. We have a toga party BBQ on Friday. I don't think I'll be wearing a toga but maybe we'll bring baby's blankie :haha: will be getting some alcohol free bubbly wine.

Sorry about the nausea ladies. I had pizza at the Italian market and feel great. It's weird because I'm usually gluten free too, wheat makes my skin crawl with ants. We'll see in a few hours... But no feeling of losing my lunch so far:dance:


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## Fern81

Already on scan stalking duty :)


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## CrazyDogLady

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone.

Glad to hear there are other crazy dog ladies among us! I just have one pooch just now, she's an older lady with so much character!

Amazing scan Rebecca, you must be so excited :cloud9:

To those experiencing nausea, I really feel for you. I've not had any so far, and didn't have any with DS. I have however been super hungry all the time, can't eat enough. I am however trying to eat as healthy as possible, I really don't want to put on any unnecessary weight (except on my boobs maybe, another member of the tiny boobs club here!)

I've not had any bleeding yesterday or today, so I'm taking that as a positive sign.


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## rebecca822

Fern, me too! I'm waiting for those scans today!

Crazydog- I'm actually eating much less then normal. Very small meals. I'm eating more often but just small quantities.


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## Rq120

Just got back from the US and all is well. Both babies are healthy. One is measuring 8w0d and the other is measuring 8w1d. Healthy heartbeats (although I don't have the specific numbers). Also, we could see the arm buds. I go to get my hormone levels drawn next week and if they are good then doc will wean me off the estrogen pills and progesterone suppositories. 

I would post a pic but honestly it is really graining and pretty unsatisfying. Just two blurry circles with blobs in the center.


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## beemeck

my scan also looks like absolutely nothing, lol. but everything is good! although of course I'm still a nervous wreck. saw the baby in the uterus and we could see a heartbeat if I sat really, really still but she wasn't able to have the machine pick it up. I guess that's normal but I don't know if I'll ever be able to just relax :dohh: 

doc wants to see me again in 2 weeks for an 8 week scan. I think that's why I'm worrying. I'm so glad to have another scan, but wonder why he wants one. I thought my only high risk factor was an extrauterine pregnancy and now that that's settled, I wonder what else is up. 

so yeah, really got no info today just so far, so good, see you in 2 weeks. :shrug:


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## rebecca822

That's too bad that we don't get any pics from today :(

Glad to hear both of your scans went well!
Rq- I'm just a few days behind you :)


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## Fern81

Congrats both of you! Arm buds and a heartbeat <3! 
Beemeck in this case no news is good news :) everything is just normal which is great.
I completely understand not relaxing; won't even tell you that you should relax now since I'm finding it impossible myself :).

Hugs!


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## Fern81

Myshel- what was the date of your egg retrieval?


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## beemeck

here is the scan pic - basically looks like nothing!
 



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## Rq120

Because I don't want to disappoint anyone, here is a pic from today. :)
You could see the arm bids on the US but they don't always capture well on the pic.
 



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## rebecca822

You're right It really is very fuzzy too bad they couldn't get a better picture :(
Well thanks for sharing anyways, they look very cozy in there


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## 2have4kids

Rq & Beemack congrats on your scans! Lovely pics even if they aren't the best quality. It'll only get better from here on out!
So tiny at this point, very glad to hear all is well. 

Who's next with a scan?

My prenatal check up went fine. She set up a 10 week scan on July 20 and the 12 week NT scan Aug 4. I need to get back to work beginnng of Aug so I asked for a 10 week viability scan before I call in to give them 2 weeks notice that I'm coming back early. My back to work date was supposed to be Oct 1 but I need 600 hours to get another year off. Doctor wanted there to be lots of fluff time in the third tri just in case I'm early. 
I'm not going to look forward to leaving DD everyday. Will break my heart. Will have to see if I can get DH to bring her to lunch downtown once/week.


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## Prayingforno1

Nice scans ladies-glad to hear all is going well and I can't wait until our babies are bigger and we can have more defined scans-we will soon be entering the 2nd trimester ladies!!
2have4kids-I am sure leaving your little one will be hard but it's so good you'll be able to spend a good amount of time at home with your 3 babies all at once.


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## Myshelsong

Scans look great ladies!

2 have my cousin did the same thing going back early,myshe hated it, but then loved the full year after off to spend with both her kids.mshe even took another 6 months off because she didn't want to go back so she is now working part time until returning full time. It will be worth it, just remember that. 

My retrieval was May 8, 

feeling good here I think. Symptoms come and go, today is a fade away so just tired but no nausea. Hope all is still good inside. Can't help but worry a little bit.


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## froggyfrog

So glad the scan went well ladies!!! I'm sure all is well beemeck, they probably just want to give 2 weeks for the baby to get big enough to see.


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## rebecca822

I think I have a little bump today! Got dressed up for a party and with my panty hose and party outfit it looks like there's a bump. I'm only 8 weeks I was really not planning on telling anyone yet...
I tried taking a picture but am having a hard time. I'll ask hubby to get a pic later and I'll share it with you.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - I know you show earlier with twins, but I'm having trouble finding when the uterus pushes beyond the pubic bone in twins....
I think it is 12 weeks in a single pregnancy, so I wonder how much sooner it is in a twin pregnancy.


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## rebecca822

Rq120 said:


> Rebecca - I know you show earlier with twins, but I'm having trouble finding when the uterus pushes beyond the pubic bone in twins....
> I think it is 12 weeks in a single pregnancy, so I wonder how much sooner it is in a twin pregnancy.

So I don't feel my uterus yet. I keep trying to feel it when I am in bed. Maybe it's bloat that looks like a bump. Either way I'll take it :)
Just want nosy family questions yet. I think my mom and sister know I'm pregnant. I sent my sister shopping because I was too tired and asked her for mint chip ice cream. She knows I'm really strict about sugar on my diet... 
Also, I had a serious craving for sushi so I sent her to get me sushi. Vegetable rolls only of course.


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## Myshelsong

Happy Canada Day!!

Doing a rib fest with hubby and parents this afternoon, then hoping to get to fireworks unless I am exhausted lol.
Hope you all have a good weekend. Long weekend here!


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## rebecca822

Myshelsong said:


> Happy Canada Day!!
> 
> Doing a rib fest with hubby and parents this afternoon, then hoping to get to fireworks unless I am exhausted lol.
> Hope you all have a good weekend. Long weekend here!

Never heard of that. Similar to July 4?
We'll probably go for fireworks Sunday night. I'd love to take DD she'd be super excited to watch them. Maybe a family BBQ but I've been avoiding Sunday BBQ's since the smell of the grill is awful!! lol


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## 2have4kids

Happy Canada Day! We're off to a toga party house warming tonight, prob won't do a toga but will get plied with alcohol free bubbly :haha:
Had more pink this morning. Wish it would stop already!


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> Rq120 said:
> 
> 
> Rebecca - I know you show earlier with twins, but I'm having trouble finding when the uterus pushes beyond the pubic bone in twins....
> I think it is 12 weeks in a single pregnancy, so I wonder how much sooner it is in a twin pregnancy.
> 
> So I don't feel my uterus yet. I keep trying to feel it when I am in bed. Maybe it's bloat that looks like a bump. Either way I'll take it :)
> Just want nosy family questions yet. I think my mom and sister know I'm pregnant. I sent my sister shopping because I was too tired and asked her for mint chip ice cream. She knows I'm really strict about sugar on my diet...
> Also, I had a serious craving for sushi so I sent her to get me sushi. Vegetable rolls only of course.Click to expand...

Don't know when the uterus pushes up past the pubic bone but at my prenatal physical with the GP yesterday she said my 7 week pregnancy feels more like a 10 week uterus which is right on the mark given a twin pregnancy.


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## Rq120

rebecca822 said:


> Rq120 said:
> 
> 
> Rebecca - I know you show earlier with twins, but I'm having trouble finding when the uterus pushes beyond the pubic bone in twins....
> I think it is 12 weeks in a single pregnancy, so I wonder how much sooner it is in a twin pregnancy.
> 
> So I don't feel my uterus yet. I keep trying to feel it when I am in bed. Maybe it's bloat that looks like a bump. Either way I'll take it :)
> Just want nosy family questions yet. I think my mom and sister know I'm pregnant. I sent my sister shopping because I was too tired and asked her for mint chip ice cream. She knows I'm really strict about sugar on my diet...
> Also, I had a serious craving for sushi so I sent her to get me sushi. Vegetable rolls only of course.Click to expand...

I'm not the type that is a bump Nazi! I've seen them on here and other sites. So I'm not going to criticize a bump. To me, if you have a bump, bloating or not, it is due to the pregnancy and therefore a Baby Bump :)
Your question just got me thinking and I haven't found the answer to that question yet.


Happy Canada Day or 4th of July or whatever else holiday everyone is celebrating. For me, I'm excited about a 3 day weekend! I also get off 2 hours early paid today :happydance:
Hubby is taking me to an amusement park this weekend, just the two of us. Obviously I can't ride the roller coasters, but it has a wonderful water park and gives us a day to just spend time together. We have been spending a lot of time with friends and family and just need some couple time. We might BBQ some ribs this weekend, but honestly we don't have any plans for this weekend which is great because we can do whatever we feel like.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and party plans. They all sound fun!


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## Rq120

Myshelsong said:


> Maybe a family BBQ but I've been avoiding Sunday BBQ's since the smell of the grill is awful!! lol

That's a shame. We have a wood fired grill and it smells so yummy! We are going to smoke a whole chicken on it tonight. MMMMM, can't wait.


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## froggyfrog

I just Google Canada day, it's the day Canada was born?


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## rebecca822

2have- I've also been having spotting. Nothing yesterday but this morning it showed up again.
I finished work early today for the holiday weekend so I'm taking a little nap. We have a family reunion tonight which will end late so I need to rest up :)


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca hopefully it stops. Enjoy your family event tonight. We're all taking a nap (just got grumpy baby down) and then downtown for some Canada Day festivities and then to the toga BBQ.


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## Myshelsong

Yes it is the Confederation of Canada, when the territories decided to unite and become one country. I have never heard of July 4th, but I am assuming it is something similar .... I am totally joking, I have obviously heard of it. It is our Canadian Birthday for our country. Lots of fun, most have it off, parades, carnivals, fireworks, parties, bbqs all the fun stuff. 

I found this very helpful link with photos about Canada day for those that have no idea. It isn't overly serious, but has some quick simple facts, personally I think they leave way too much out, but that is just me. 

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/30/canada-day-2013_n_3496993.html

Hope everyone has a wonderful night and long weekend if you get it!


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## Fern81

Hope you had/will have a lovely canada day/4th of july all! I'm just celebrating a short 4day break from work :) but it feels like my own independence weekend hehe. 

Vent alert: Dh and I have been struggling a lot, fighting on and off; I guess we are both under a lot of stress with the financial issues & trying to renovate bits of our very run-down house & pregnancy... just not having a lot of success working our problems out. We are on good terms today but I never know how long it will last. I'm just so scared it becomes worse when baby is born; our relationship seems to fold under stress. :( ugh Idk. It's not always bad but I think it's abnormal to fight this much. Any advice? (He will not see a counsellor and he thinks he is blameless).


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## 2have4kids

Fern I'm sorry to hear about the fighting, you don't need extra stress! Money & kids are the top reasons people argue. It's impossible to work with people who believe they're always right. I've been on tender hooks with my DH in past years (we're going on 18 years together now). I did counselling alone as hd wouldn't go and it helped me. My colleague did the same. They can help you stop reacting in the same way making the situation repeat. The worst punishment for someone who thinks they're always right and forever refusing to apologise is to change the game on them. It gave my head a shake into my part and why I was putting up with certain things and allowed me to not give him the reward he was looking for. 

She also recommended some great books, which we both read. In your case hw might not read anything but I think my Dh wanted to know what I was up to and ensure hw knew everything so that perhaps he wasn't the 'wrong one' if that makes sense?
The Seven Principles of A Successful Marriage by John Gotman
https://www.amazon.ca/Seven-Principles-Making-Marriage-Work/dp/0609805797
The Five Love Languages (with online survey for both you & DH)
The Five Apologies Languages (https://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/apology/ ) <--survey

We still fight just not as much. And we did counselling together eventually. It helped us recognise fights that repeat & never go awayvs fights that are small & new and how to get over them. The repeating long term fights you have to agree to disagree and 1 person has to exit quickly to stop the pattern. I don't know if any of this will help, we've been there and it's not fun. Sending you massive :hugs:


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## 2have4kids

It's 6am and I awoke to bright red bleeding with a few clots. I'm going to the ER when it opens at 8am for a scan.


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## Myshelsong

2 have4kids Hope everything is ok Hun. Thinking about you. :hugs:

Fern- hubs and I had a rough few years during our infertility, and although we both didn't end up doing counselling we did talk about it together all the time. We read the 5 languages of love and found it very helpful. At one point we talked about wether we really wanted this to work out, and agreed that we loved eachother and wanted it to work we just didn't know why we weren't meeting each other's needs. So we wrote a list of five things we needed from our partner to feel they cared. It was simple things, like good night kisses, someone that will do the dishes once a week, a call during lunch a couple times a week so we know they are thinking of us, saying thank you, date night .... Knowing the other person was trying as much as the other really helped, and the talking about everything was wonderful.


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## Fern81

Thank you guys for your amazing, helpful, concrete advice. I will try all of those. So good to know I'm not the only one. I guess people don't always talk about what goes on behind the scenes.

2have- my heart jumped into my throat reading that... I'm praying for you so hard right now. Please let us know what's going on and what you need from us. Xxx


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## 2have4kids

Well bleeding subsided and because I've already had a scan confirming pregnancy they're making me wait till Monday. They'd only do one if they thought it was ectopic but because we know it isn't...i hope there are still 2 bubs in there :cry:


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## Fern81

Whaaaat, that's mean! I'm so glad the bleeding has gone down though. Hope it's nothing serious. If you didn't have severe cramping I really think everything will be OK! XX


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## Myshelsong

Oh my gosh 2have, I am so sorry you are going through this. That is the scariest thing ever! I have been thinking of you all day, I hope the bleeding continues to subside and your little ones are safe and sound. 
I can't believe they wouldn't do a scan, praying for you.


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## Rq120

2have - I hope everything is ok!

Hubby took me to a water park yesterday. It was a great day together. Today is rainy here. :(
On the way home from the water park we stopped at a maternity store at an outlet mall. They had buy one get one free on their clearance. I bought 10 shirts for $5-10 each and a pair of jeans for $20. I'm set for a while now and at great deal prices!!


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## rebecca822

Fern- sorry about your fighting. It can be so stressful. Hubby and I have been on good terms but for a lot of it he kind of zones out. It bothers me that he's not more involved but I guess it's good were not fighting.
2have- I hope the bleeding has stopped. My doctor told me as long as there's no severe cramping or the blood is not heavy enough to change a pad an hour then it's ok. 
Today I woke up to some bright blood as well. I hate all this worrying :(
To be honest I was really unwell the whole weekend. I had a migraine and vonitted several times. 
Today I'm feeling a little better but I just need to make sure to drink a lot. I think that's what set off the migraine.


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## DianeCraft

Hello everyone! I'm new here. My husband and I have been TTC for 10 years! June 24th 2016 was our FET (frozen embryo transfer) date. My first pregnancy test is July 5th (2 days away)!! I'm very nervous but extremely excited. I feel good, have had cramping and have low energy but my Dr. says that's normal. My due date is March 11th, 2017. 
During the six month preparation for this moment I always told myself "dont get excited, dont let others get excited" but its impossible! I am soooo excited, but my husband is still a little guarded. 
I'm 35 y/o and my husband is 38. It has been such a tough road. 
My first infertility dr reeally messed me up physically and emotionally. He said my infertility was due to endometriosis (which is still severe). He did laproscopic surgery in Jan 2010 and severed my ureter and large descending intestine. After 4 months in hospital and 13 surgeries, I was ready to go home. It was a terrible ordeal and a huge setback in my pregnancy journey. 
BUT! I am very hopeful and I feel good about this pregnancy. 
I cant wait to tell you all on July 5th if the test is positive!! 
This thread is perfect for me, I feel you ladies are closest to my situation. I cannot wait to track our pregnancies together! :) xoxo


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## 2have4kids

DianeCraft welcome! What a horrific experience. Was it a different doctor who reconstructed you? Have you done IVF/iui's previous to this? 10 years is a long time for ttc, we've done 6 but only 6 months in I knew something was wrong and got in with an fs. After that I moved at lightning speed to get our family on. Everyone goes at their own pace, I have a friend who was diagnosed at 25 years old with DOR numbers worse than me at 35 and now that she's 32 she's pregnant with her first after just 1 round of IVF. She's so excited, I'm relieved she responded to treatment. Now we all just have to hang on past the 12 week mark and make it to 38+ weeks! 
Congratulations on your pregnancy and here's to a smooth 7-8 more months.


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## Fern81

Hi Diane, you are very welcome! Oh wow what a horrific thing to have happen to you; hope the doctor is not allowed to practice anymore! ! I can't wait for your test in 2 days and hoping with all my heart it's positive. :) Do you have any additional frozen embryos? X

2have and rebecca- how are you two doing today?

Waterpark sounds like so much fun!! Can't wait for summer :).


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## rebecca822

Diane- welcome! I hope you get your bfp on July 5! 
Sounds like you've been through so much to get here. Will you test early or your really waiting until Tuesday?
I hope you'll get to join our group

Fern- I'm feeling mostly better just a little sick. Nothing like Friday night and Saturday.


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## DianeCraft

Hello 2have! Thank you for welcoming me. 
It is a different Doctor, I will never work with that Dr again. He was so awful to me. 
This is my first round of IVF. I guess I was slow to accept something was off. After marriage my husband and I moved to San Francisco and we tried for about 5 years to get pregnant. In 2010 we moved to Ohio and that was when I was diagnosed with endometriosis. The 1st option of treatment was laproscopic surgery which went horribly awry. I was completely scared and wanted to give up, but last year (after moving to a new city) decided to try again. I feel bad for waiting so long but didnt want to give up. 
I had 3 embryos frozen in April so I am praying to at least have 2 kiddos with them. 
That's great news for your girlfriend. I pray I respond well also. I feel like I will, but one never knows. 
My Dr is a bit worried due to the state of my lower abdomen (my bladder is sewn to my abdominal wall below my left ribcage because of ureter damage). He is afraid of urethra over extension. But I feel really good so I refuse to worry with everyone. If this is meant to be, it will happen. 
I am so excited to track with you all. Here's to staying positive and believing in ourselves and God's plan for our lives. 
I definitely feel pregnant. Lol


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## DianeCraft

Hello Rebecca, thank you! 
I think I'm going to wait until Tuesday. I'm really nervous and dont know if a home test will be accurate, so I will probably wait to know for certain. It's definitely torturous to wait! 
Thank you so much, I hope I can join too!


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## DianeCraft

Hello Fern! So good to meet you! Thank you for starting this group! 
Unfortunately, yes the Dr is still practicing in Cincinnati. I tried to sue but my lawyer was unable to get an expert witness (said he had one but they were unable to continue and judge wouldnt allow for another extension). First extension was due to a lawyer switch. I guess these kinds of cases dont do well unless there is a loss of life. 
I hate to be such a downer to you ladies. 
I am great now. I probably shouldnt tell everyone my "woe is me story", but I know it will have a positive outcome and help someone who thinks it may not be possible for them.
The surgery mishap destroyed both of my tubes so IVF was the only possibility for us. We have done very well up to this point and have had great results. Praying for continued success. 
Thank you ladies for giving me someone to talk to about these things. 
:*


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## Fern81

I keep reading and re-reading your story; need to make sure you know how hard I'm rooting for you :)


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## Myshelsong

Diane welcome! I can't believe your doctor did such a horrible job, that is terrible. Glad you were finally able to heal and continue to IVF. Hope your test is positive, I know the first few weeks I was exhausted and thirsty like nothing I had ever experienced before.

Rebecca, hoping the bleeding for you is nothing. That is so scary, do you have a Drs appointment soon?


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## Fern81

You are definitely not a downer, you are a survivor and an inspiration **** <3


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## DianeCraft

Thank you Fern!! I really appreciate the support and responses. You ladies have been great already. I look forward to further conversations and tracking to 38 weeks! &#10084;&#10084;&#10084;


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## DianeCraft

Hello Myshelsong, thank you! I'm so glad you said that, I cant seem to stop being thirsty! I cant get enough fluids! 
Does anyone else take progesterone shots and inserts? Ohhh man these things are Not fun! &#55357;&#56861;


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## 2have4kids

Your body is making waaaay more blood which makes us very thirsty. Drink lots! Coconut water gets rid of bloat & restless legs at night if you ever feel crappy, pick some up!

I can't wait for my scan tomorrow morning. I don't get this on & off bleeding. It scared me so much yesterday, I just want to know if I still have both babies on board.


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## Myshelsong

I seriously need to get some coconut water, just don't know what brand too buy ... I have no idea where to even look. I just drink a lot of plain water.
2have- has the bleeding stopped?


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## DianeCraft

Thank you 2have! I just sent the hubby out for some, thank you for the advice. Im crazy bloated due to these shots.
I pray your scan shows your babies are doing great and you get answers for the bleeding. Continued prayers.


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## 2have4kids

It stopped after I got up on Saturday, but not before scaring me with the clots that passed. Totally seems random, we'll kniw more tomorrow morning. 

I just get the brand of coconut water at walmart, they have an organic one with no added sugar. LO likes it too. 

Diane I do the progesterone injections in the hip/butt, and Lovenox in the tummy. I prefer injectable progesterone to suppository, i always wondered hiw much was actually being absorbed and hated the mess. I like the effects of progesterone though, always sleep better, feel more calm, my skin clears up, the body feels relaxed. The bloating I'm sure is hormonal but I always feel like and blame it on having babies in there :haha: and my legs never swell. But I drink that coconut water, take magnesium, and a really good heme iron so don't have to deal with constipation (Spatone & Floridex are liquid iron and much easier on the digestive sustem) and exercise and I think that helps.


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## rebecca822

I was on progesterone shots until last week they allowed me to switch to suppositories 3 times a day. It's messy but I hated the shots. I wear panty liners to help with the mess.


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## Myshelsong

I have been on the suppositories since retrieval, it is a mess but so far so good! It is second nature now I don't even think about it. Not many side effects that I can tell, no headaches or issues. I do pee more, but now that is the pressure on my bladder from my uterus. Although I love an afternoon nap I tell ya.


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## Fern81

I've been on crinone (vaginal progesterone gel) since ER. It doesn't bother me that much. I do think baby's placenta is starting to develop properly and produce a lot of hormones because my fatigue, seasickness, moods, boob soreness and acne have all become a lot worse since the end of last week. And dh said he thinks my boobs are bigger.... finally!! :) I'll be stopping the crinone soon (in a week).

2have - hope your scan shows 2 perfect babies. Stalking for your update & thinking of you!!


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## Prayingforno1

OMG i stay of the board for 2 days and miss so much!

Fern-So sorry you and hubby are having a tough time. I hope you can come to a common ground asap to ensure your level of stress is low. Marriage is not easy, I tell everyone that. I've gone through things/struggles with DH I could have never imagined but I am praying for your strength through this.

2have4kids- So sorry you had to wait for a scan, I hope all goes well today but so glad to hear the bleeding stopped.

Rebecca-Are you still bleeding? Hope you are feeling better.

DianeCraft-We look forward to having you in our group. There an awesome group of ladies here to help you through your pregnancy journey. We all have different stories and journeys but it is so good to beable to be in a group where you can express how you feel or what's going on and get honest useful advice. I was also diagnosed with endomitriosis and after a few years of wasted treatments finally gave IVF a go and here I am now-GL to you.

AFM-Nothing new here same old nausea/tiredness. Rested most of the weekend. Can't wait until i have my next scan on Saturday! My work pants are getting tight around the waist :( time to get that belly band to give me some more time to wear my regular pants. I am 9 weeks today!! Whoop Whoop!! Have a great day ladies.


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## Prayingforno1

I am also on progesterone suppositories and will be up until 12 weeks. I take them twice a day. I cannot wait until I am off my support meds-kinda getting tired of everything at this point


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## DianeCraft

Thank you ladies for the awesome amount of support and tips. You sure know how to make a girl feel welcome. :)
I feel incredibly bloated, a little moody, very tired, and always thirsty. I have to take the shots until week 12 and the inserts for another week or so. 
I woke up feeling normal this morning and it kind of scared me. Lol. I usually cramp all the time, especially when laying down. 
I take a daily injection of progesterone in sesame oil in the mornings, prometrium suppository at night, and Delestrogen injection twice a week.

2have - I agree, I prefer the shots to the suppositories, the uncomfortableness is much shorter lived. I will be so happy to be done with both. Praying your scan goes great today!

Rebecca-I have to use panty liners as well, as they are messy!

Praying forno1 (I'm praying for #1 too!!) ;) I agree, the hormones don't make me feel bad, it just gets reeeeally old getting injections so many times throughout the week. Thank you for the warm welcome!

Fern, I think the boob growth has been 1 of the BEST side effects. I've had a small chest all my life, so even with the soreness, I'm happy. Lol


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## 2have4kids

Ok ladies, things are all good! I have 2 subchorionic bleeds that aren't attached to either baby's sacs. So he said I could have more bleeding but it won't affect babies. They had healthy heartbeats of 166 and 161 and measured 7+6 and 7+5 :dance:
I feel so reassured. The other tech td me there was no sign of sch and should b no bleeds just healthy babies :grr:


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## rebecca822

2have- that's a relief so glad everything is ok.

Afm- went to ER last night. Was feeling super sick and couldn't keep anything down. I was dehydrated. They gave me IV fluids and nausea meds. As a bonus they did an ultrasound and saw my babies are ok.
I got home at 6am and went straight to bed. 
Feeling so much better now.


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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids-great news and awesome heartbeats

Rebecca-Glad your precious cargo are doing well and you were able to take another peak at them. Rest up!!


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## Fern81

Oh gosh rebecca you poor thing! Did you have food poisoning or was it severe ms/HG? Glad you and babies are ok.

You too 2have, so relieved that you and yours are all ok! Xx


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## rebecca822

Fern- they called it mild HG. Thankfully feeling much better today.


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## Myshelsong

Wow, Rebecca glad you got to see the little bubs and all is good. Sorry you felt so horrible, I am hoping this will pass soon for you. 

2have- fantastic news the bubs are doing great. The bleeding sounds so scary.

Weekend here was good. Did some gardening, watched tv with the hubs, went to the rib fest and ate ribs and a Nutella funnel cake ... Oh it was so delicious. Also Found a perfect way to combat my afternoon nausea .... A chocolate peanut butter milkshake. Seriously. Not a huge one, I make a small one at night, but it helps so much. Maybe my nausea is a blood sugar thing? I ate an orange before it but it did nothing so thinking it might be a dairy thing, like a sour stomach.


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## 2have4kids

Oh rebecca that doesn't sound fun. I'm glad they hooked you up and took good care of you. Glad you're feeling better now!

Ugg, I was so hungry I got Edo noodles, chicken & veg and now feel so so sooo sick. There must have been a ton of sugar in the sauce and those noodles why did I eat them! Note to self, unless you wish for ms, don't eat what you crave, no noodles & carbs:sick:


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## froggyfrog

Oh my, a lot happens when you don't log in for a while! I'm going to try to remember everything I read...

2have, how scary! What a relief the babies are fine! So happy for you. 

Rebecca, I hope you feel better and can stay hydrated. 

Diane, welcome. Can't wait to see your bfp. 

Myshel, how great that you found something to help nausea! Keep in stocked!

Afm, I have my last scan with the RE tomorrow then I graduate! I'll see my ob next Wednesday. I'm really excited to see how much he has grown! Still feeling really good, I'm able to pick up his heart beat every time on my doppler now!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy that's amazing with the doppler. I have one but haven't tried yet, think maybe it's too early? And what the heck happens with twins?
All the best with the scan tomorrow. Do you go off the meds for this 'graduation'?


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> Froggy that's amazing with the doppler. I have one but haven't tried yet, think maybe it's too early? And what the heck happens with twins?
> All the best with the scan tomorrow. Do you go off the meds for this 'graduation'?

I asked my RE about a Doppler and she said since its twins we would have no idea what we were going. Also, she said if one time you don't get a heartbreak you're gonna panick and run to ER. All in all she said it'll just make you more nervous. So, I'm gonna do without one although I think it would be amazing to have one for reassurance.


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## froggyfrog

2have, I'm officially off of pio as of Tuesday last week. Next week I'll be 12 weeks and that's when I stop my metformin and baby asprin. 

Rebecca, I think if you think not hearing it would cause a panic, then skipping it is definitely a good idea. I had one instance where I couldn't find him, but I knew he was just hiding so I waited a few hours and tried again and there he was!


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## Fern81

Diane- fx for your test today!! I know you are all still sleeping hehe but I'm going to be checking in all day hopefully to see great results! By the way did you do a hcg trigger shot? If so, how many days past trigger are you now? And also how many days past transfer? :)


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## Rq120

Got some labs this morning. If all is good then I will get a call back with instructions to start weaning my estrogen and progesterone. I can't wait until I don't have to do vaginal suppositories three times a day!


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## 2have4kids

I can'tbelieve some of us are approaching end of tri 1 already! This is going fast!

Today I'mworking on our baby announcent.it has to be out by July 20. Onthe 21dt my DH goes camping with his big bro,who took it upon himself to tell everyone zbout our 1st pregnancy. And I have to give work 2 weeks notice that I'm coming back so the doc set me up with a 10 week scan on the 20th to confirm we're still with twins. 

I'mgoing to do a tea party photo shoot with our DD in a local garden. With place cards with our last name saying reserved for ---- baby #2 and ----#3 something like this:


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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids your birth announcement sounds so cute. I was just thinking this morning whether we should tell our siblings and parents on Sunday (I'll be roughly 10 weeks) or wait until we are 12 weeks. 
I found some onesies- that each read I love my aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa and was thinking to put each in a gift bag and give it to them after a family dinner.


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## 2have4kids

I also love this one but where would a person get those cute chairs?


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## 2have4kids

Prayingforno1 said:


> 2have4kids your birth announcement sounds so cute. I was just thinking this morning whether we should tell our siblings and parents on Sunday (I'll be roughly 10 weeks) or wait until we are 12 weeks.
> I found some onesies- that each read I love my aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa and was thinking to put each in a gift bag and give it to them after a family dinner.

Onsies are a fabulous idea praying. Your LO will need lots of them anyways! Is Sunday a special occasion?


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## Myshelsong

Super cute idea, love the onesies. Thinking about that for our siblings just waiting to let them know. I am being so paranoid lol


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## rebecca822

2have, that's a really cute idea.
Maybe look at garage sales for the chairs?
Praying- I like the onesie idea.
Hmmm, I wasn't planning on an exciting pregnancy announcement but now I'm thinking I should do one.
Praying we are waiting till week 12, when I switch from my RE to my OB. I believe my second trimester starts July 29.


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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids- no special occasion Sunday but I just wanna tell someone we are pregnant!! lol It is so hard keeping it in especially how I've been sick and exhausted. I'll see how my doctor's scan goes Saturday and decide based on that


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## rebecca822

Prayingforno1 said:


> 2have4kids- no special occasion Sunday but I just wanna tell someone we are pregnant!! lol It is so hard keeping it in especially how I've been sick and exhausted. I'll see how my doctor's scan goes Saturday and decide based on that

Praying I hear you!

Wish I could tell people too! 
Honestly, I'm ready to tell my mom but hubby will not go for it.


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## Prayingforno1

Yeah I probably should wait until 12 weeks which would be July 25th. I am almost there and should be patient a bit longer i guess :wacko:


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## Prayingforno1

DianeCraft-any news yet?

On the doppler topic I really want to get one but have a strong feeling I may have to kill my husband because he will annoy the heck out of me if we have one in the house.


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## froggyfrog

His head is on the left. His hands are by his face, it looks like he is rubbing his eyes, or trying to block us from seeing him. His feet are snuggled up so cute. She had a hard time getting a good picture because he is so crazy in there. He doesn't stop moving.


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog what an awesome scan-he's playing shy already!


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## froggyfrog

He is acting like his daddy already, trying to dodge the camera lol! He was doing rolls and flips in there. It was so fun to watch!


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog said:


> He is acting like his daddy already, trying to dodge the camera lol! He was doing rolls and flips in there. It was so fun to watch!

Awww that's so awesome. I am so excited about all of these milestones we are all passing.


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## Rq120

Thanks for sharing froggy.  So cute!


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## rebecca822

Froggy- what a great ultrasound!! Amazing how big he is already!


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## 2have4kids

Lovely photo froggy! Our LO always seemed to want to hide too, they're a wee bit shy at this tender age:haha:


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## Fern81

Love love love your scan pics froggy! You have a beautiful son.

I also really like all the announcement ideas :). We told everyone over the phone though and won't be doing a fb announcement (I'm not a fan of social media just anonymous bnb!).... so I'm thinking of a small gender reveal party just because I also want to do a special/cute announcement of some sort! :) the ladies on here inspire me hehe.

Diane - fx for you!


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## rebecca822

Diane- any update? 

I'm so hungry all day! Ate so much. 
What's everyone eating for supper?
I think I'll make a large salad, loving salad these days. Still can't tolerate protein.


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## Prayingforno1

Not sure what's for dinner yet in our house but I find I don't like my cooking these past days. DH said I'm just miserable but I find I eat more if someone else cooks. We have alot of different leftovers in the fridge so maybe I'll throw the bits and pieces of those together to make a meal.


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## 2have4kids

Had chicken pot pie pub style soup n toast for lunch. Will have kale salad + blackened red snapper that we bbq'd yesterday for dinner. We have this place called Planet Organic that has wonderful foods and they have this tasty 'Hale to the Kale' recipe online. Best kale salad I've ever had with tamari roasted nuts and balsamic vinegarette. Kiwi, strawberries, & blueberries for desert! Have to get some whip cream...
Baby's fav fruits are berries so we always have them on hand.


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## rebecca822

I ended up picking up veggie sushi. I find the rice soothing on my tummy. I felt yuck all day and I just vomitted. Feeling a bit better. 
I'm gonna go to bed early. Got my scan in the early morning :)


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## 2have4kids

Good luck with your scan Rebecca, sorry you were feeling crap today!


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## Myshelsong

What an awesome scan! So cool you can see it like that your little guy looks amazing. 

I popped in a frozen lasagna for dinner so lazy today and feeling gross. Rice would have been good was nauseous most of the afternoon unfortunately. I made a cool ginger sauce once, I will look for the recipe use to do wonders with my friends pregnancy nausea. We should have a recipe exchange!

Good luck on scan tomorrow Rebecca!


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## Fern81

You guys are busy while I'm sleeping ;). 

We're busy with home renovations & I can't cook this week due to plaster dust everywhere. I keep some fruit & avos in the cottage outside (my office) but other than that we're also living off frozen meals for a few days. Had frozen lasagne and veg last night & leftovers tonight lol.


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## rebecca822

My two little babies are doing great :)

You can see the tech labeled them, "A" and "B"

I think I have to attach them in separate posts.
 



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## rebecca822

And here is baby "B"

They were both wiggling around today. You can see they have full arms and legs.
 



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## Fern81

Aaaah beautiful scans Rebecca! !! <3 <3 double joy xx


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## 2have4kids

Gorgeous scan!! Thanks for sharing:dance:


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## Prayingforno1

Beautiful scans Rebecca!!


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## Myshelsong

Omg how gorgeous! Yay Rebecca, they look so good. Big hugs mamma.

Sitting at the dealership waiting for my car to be done. So bored but they have me a coffee.... I chose decaf, man I miss coffee lol.
Doing lunch with my mom and siblings, going for curry, so excited to find out if baby likes curry. It hated the lasagna last night, was most of the night with gas pains!

Trying to figure out if it was the cheese or the pasta, ate more bread yesterday then I normally do. Anyone else getting gas from certain types of food


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## Rq120

Rebecca - your scans look great. I love how you can see the arms and legs!

Man, you all sound so miserable. I'm sorry you are all dealing with stomach issues. I, however, am not. I have not experienced any MS yet! I'm just counting my blessings at this point. I had really severe pain with my endometriosis, so hubby says that God is giving me an easy pregnancy (so far) as a break for the two years of misery and pain when I was TTC. Whatever it is, I'll take it. I would be concerned about the lack of symptoms, but with the regular ultrasounds I can see that they are healthy and growing well.


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## rebecca822

Thanks ladies I can't believe how much they've changed in a week, they really look like human babies :)

Myshelsong- I've also stopped with coffee. Interestingly enough I have no desire to drink coffee the thought of it repulses me. I do enjoy a cup of decaf tea about once a day. Gives me the warmth that the coffee did.

Last night I felt really sick and vomitted once before dinner and once during the night. It's getting difficult to push myself through my work day. I wish I could take a day or two off. 
Labor Day is the next holiday I have to look forward to.


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## 2have4kids

LO was up for 2 hours last night starting at 3:30 and didn't fall asleep till midnight. She slept better as a newborn than now! Her top teeth are coming down and I think it's bothering her sleep. DHis taking care of her this morning but can I sleep? My tummy is saying 'go get breakfast right now!' So I'll sneak out there for food and see if I can get back to my bed unscathed:haha:


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> LO was up for 2 hours last night starting at 3:30 and didn't fall asleep till midnight. She slept better as a newborn than now! Her top teeth are coming down and I think it's bothering her sleep. DHis taking care of her this morning but can I sleep? My tummy is saying 'go get breakfast right now!' So I'll sneak out there for food and see if I can get back to my bed unscathed:haha:

I keep a mini fridge in my room. It has yogurt, pudding and water bottles. I also keep crackers in the table by my bed. 
Nice of DH to take care of her, that always ends up being my job.


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## froggyfrog

Your babies are cute Rebecca! !


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## Rq120

Yay! I got the good news that my hormones were great and I can start weaning my estrogen and progesterone. I should be off meds by Monday. Then my last ultrasound with the RE is next Thursday. I'm so excited to graduate off meds and graduate from the RE soon!


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## Fern81

Hope you had a nice rest 2have :). Btw your meals always sound delish. 

Rq- yay! I'm also going to stop taking progesterone on Monday-ish. It will be so nice to feel like a "normal" pregnant woman with my body doing all the work. I anticipate it being empowering. :)


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## rebecca822

Rq I'm happy to hear that your hormone levels are good.

I'll start weaning off at 12 weeks which is July 29.

My doctor reviewed my scans and would like me to come not Wednesday for another scan. Yay! Can't wait to see my babies again.


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## CrazyDogLady

Hello ladies,

Sorry I've not been around much, sounds like you're all doing well :thumbup:

I had my early scan on Tuesday and I don't know how to feel about it to be honest!

I seen the embryo / sac, etc right away, and could see a wee heartbeat flickering away. Then the nurse started to move around to check everything, and to check if there's any reason for my bleeding (there isn't). She then went back to find the heartbeat again and looked a bit concerned and said that the heartbeat was a bit slower than they would like. She did say it could just be the angle they were looking at. She measured and said "hmm, it's a bit smaller than I would expect", then asked the other nurse how far I was along, measured again and said "well, it's not that small".

They want me to go back next week for another scan, at which point they should see growth and a strong heartbeat, or no heartbeat at all :nope:

I appreciate the nurse for not sugar coating things, but I just don't know whether I should be hopeful or not.

I'm also cursing myself for saying in my last post that I didn't have any nausea... it's here! And I've had a bit of a cold type bug the last few days so have been feeling very sorry for myself. OH's being great though, just letting me rest and looking after DS.

Anyway, sorry for the moaning post, hope you're all ok :flower:


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## rebecca822

CrazyDogLady said:


> Hello ladies,
> 
> Sorry I've not been around much, sounds like you're all doing well :thumbup:
> 
> I had my early scan on Tuesday and I don't know how to feel about it to be honest!
> 
> I seen the embryo / sac, etc right away, and could see a wee heartbeat flickering away. Then the nurse started to move around to check everything, and to check if there's any reason for my bleeding (there isn't). She then went back to find the heartbeat again and looked a bit concerned and said that the heartbeat was a bit slower than they would like. She did say it could just be the angle they were looking at. She measured and said "hmm, it's a bit smaller than I would expect", then asked the other nurse how far I was along, measured again and said "well, it's not that small".
> 
> They want me to go back next week for another scan, at which point they should see growth and a strong heartbeat, or no heartbeat at all :nope:
> 
> I appreciate the nurse for not sugar coating things, but I just don't know whether I should be hopeful or not.
> 
> I'm also cursing myself for saying in my last post that I didn't have any nausea... it's here! And I've had a bit of a cold type bug the last few days so have been feeling very sorry for myself. OH's being great though, just letting me rest and looking after DS.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the moaning post, hope you're all ok :flower:

Crazy, I really hope everything is all right! I know how hard it is to wait and you just be so worried. May I ask what the heart rate was?


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## beemeck

hi girls. had a really busy weekend but I'm all caught up. glad everyone seems to be doing well despite some scares. hope everything is alright crazydog - seems like it should be! and diane, I'm thinking of you!

I had a meltdown on Friday of last week. the few symptoms I had disappeared and I was convinced that this isn't going to end well. I am having a really hard time staying calm and/or positive. I feel better since Friday and my symptoms returned, but I'm majorly on edge. Been trying to avoid airing all of my doom and gloom on BNB, so I won't get too into it. 

one more week until the next scan. :coffee:


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## Myshelsong

Hey Crazy- I am sure everything will be fine next week. She shouldn't have said anything about the size until she knew how far along you were. Try to have a great restful week and put your feet up. Good luck curbing the ms. I find I have to eat something substantial in the morning within minutes of getting up and I end up feeling pretty good. I snack almost all day on carrots, fruit and the occasional milkshake lol. 

I had a horrible dream last night that I woke up and wasn't pregnant anymore. No loss just not pregnant. My worst fear ...


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## Prayingforno1

CrazyDogLady-Although I appreciate the nurse's honesty I do wish she understood the stress this would put you through over the next week. Every scan I go for I am on pins and needles in the waiting room. We have all been through so much to get here and I never imagined pregnancy would be so nerve racking. I hope that you can relax as much as you can over the next week and I look forward to you updating us on baby's growth and development.


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## CrazyDogLady

rebecca822 said:


> Crazy, I really hope everything is all right! I know how hard it is to wait and you just be so worried. May I ask what the heart rate was?

Thanks everyone for your kind words. She never said the heart rate, just that it seemed slow, but she was poking (!) around trying to get a better angle. Things is, I seen the heartbeat as clear as day when she first showed me the screen, but then couldn't make it out after that. 

I am really worried, and my OH is being more positive, it's usually the other way round!

Beemeck - I hope the next week passes quickly for you. I can understand what you mean about constantly being on edge, not a nice feeling.

Myshelsong - I'm the same, I need to eat pretty much constantly to keep the sickness at bay, but feel worse if I eat too much! I will try eating something first thing tomorrow. What a nasty dream, sounds like the kind that stays with you all day making you feel a bit weird.

Praying - thank you. The nurse kept saying "I'm not going to lie to you", which I did appreciate, but I do wish she had been a bit more positive. I know that one of the other nurses would have put the message across with a bit more optimism.


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## rebecca822

Crazy, I was in a similar situation my last pregnancy where my RE office freaked me out something was wrong. I picked up the phone and called my OB and he told me to come in and they will take a look that same day. When they did the sonogram everything was totally fine and they reassured me. 
I ended up miscarrying but I think it was unrelated to what the RE scared me about.


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## Fern81

Crazy & beemeck - you ladies are in my thoughts and I hope& pray everything is just normal and that your embies are growing as they should. Crazy it seems like the nurse was a bit unsure, what counts is that there is a heartbeat. 

Every single one of us here have gone through days of no hope/fears/tears/ etc and while it sucks that we all had to go through so much to get where we are today (which obviously makes us all very cautious), at least we have each other to lean on & we all understand. Xxx


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies:wave:
Crazy I'm sorry you're going through this. Lets jyst hope it was a difficult u/s rather than anything wrong with baby. Another u/s will clear everuthing up but I totally understand the waiting is the hard part. I've had quite a few ups & downs in the past few weeks with bleeding and can totally relate. Especially with a long history of immune issues and mc. 
Beemack hang in there, the stress can be terrible. Looking forward to some healthy scans next week!


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## beemeck

fern - beautifully put. I struggled with what "pregnancy group" to join. I feel I have nothing in common with the regular feb birth club - lots of women with no fertility troubles. I was going to join the feb rainbows group, but also didn't feel like I fit in. not to put anyone down, but many women on there have multiple children and one chemical pregnancy that happened a bit ago. and I thought it also might too gloomy for me. I was hesitant to join this group because everyone on here has conceived via IVF and I was IUI, But in the end, I feel like this is where I fit in best. We've all spent time getting to this point and worked hard to get here. most of us have prob experienced losses too. I think this aspect is what has defined my journey and my pregnancy - the time and effort it took to get here. I am so grateful to be pregnant and also so terrified that I could lose something I fought so hard for. it's so great to have you all to understand <3


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## 2have4kids

beemeck said:


> fern - beautifully put. I struggled with what "pregnancy group" to join. I feel I have nothing in common with the regular feb birth club - lots of women with no fertility troubles. I was going to join the feb rainbows group, but also didn't feel like I fit in. not to put anyone down, but many women on there have multiple children and one chemical pregnancy that happened a bit ago. and I thought it also might too gloomy for me. I was hesitant to join this group because everyone on here has conceived via IVF and I was IUI, But in the end, I feel like this is where I fit in best. We've all spent time getting to this point and worked hard to get here. most of us have prob experienced losses too. I think this aspect is what has defined my journey and my pregnancy - the time and effort it took to get here. I am so grateful to be pregnant and also so terrified that I could lose something I fought so hard for. it's so great to have you all to understand <3

I completely relate. I was in a Feb group and not to be offensive but it seemed like a group of high school kids. It was difficult contributing anything as everyone sort of just talked at each other. Not a warm fuzzy feeling and to me it had an air of ungratefulness, we're so lucky to have these babies...we inject, we push suppositories, we take pills, we try to eat well - it's a whole different life. I have a few threads I've been on on B&B with lovely caring mature women (age doesn't come into it, it's all about experience & attitude). I'm super thankful to have these women to have supported me the past 6 years. Without their knowledge on the tricky business of immune issues I probzbly would not have our miracle DD.


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## froggyfrog

In my January group there is a mix of everone. First baby, eleventh baby, iui, ivf, natural conception. I guess I should be lucky I have a good group! But I definitely am so grateful to have you ladies!! It's especially neat that a few of us all cycled together. 

Crazy I'm sorry your feeling confused and in limbo. To me it sounds like everything is good. She obviously didnt know how far along you were when she made both of her comments and when she realized how many weeks you are she said that the baby wasn't really measuring small. The heart rate will increase as they grow too . My baby had a heart rate of 124bpm on our first scan and two weeks later it was 178. So maybe she made the heart rate comment thinking you were further than you are. I hope that made sense :hugs:


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## rebecca822

Crazy- I remember with my daughter (who is almost 4!!) the doctor made a comment about the heart rate being slow. I think it was about 120 maybe a little lower. I remember crying my eyes out thinking I was losing the pregnancy. 
I remember asking a different OB and they said they like to see a heart rate at least above 100.


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## 2have4kids

Oh, our first heart rates were 107 and 114, then a week later 161 and 166, so it goes to show there's a wide variety of acceptable values.


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## rebecca822

Never a dull moment! I am bleeding. Not spotting, it's red and it's pretty heavy. I phoned the doctor, waiting for a call back.


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> Never a dull moment! I am bleeding. Not spotting, it's red and it's pretty heavy. I phoned the doctor, waiting for a call back.

Rebecca get horizontal & drink lots of water. Hang in there! It doesn't mean anything until you have a scan.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - Sending you good vibes!! :hugs:


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## rebecca822

They told me to come in, in the waiting room now. I'll update you shortly.


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## Prayingforno1

:hugs: Rebecca hoping all is well


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## rebecca822

Hi! Ok so I have a subchorionic hematoma. Just a fancy was of saying blood during pregnancy. Babies are both fine. The doctor saw blood in cervix so I'll probably keep bleeding for the next few days.
In my gut I knew the babies were ok but I wanted to know why I was bleeding.


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## Prayingforno1

:happydance:Rebecca


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## Myshelsong

Rebecca I am so glad they are ok. My heart dropped when I read you first message three seconds ago. I am glad I got to see the news about you being fine before I had a panic attack for you!! How crazy, sorry you are going through this. Oh my goodness, you are a trooper.


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## Fern81

Oh wow so sorry you had to go through that Rebecca! Thank heavens it's all ok. Hope it clears up soon. 

Ok enough with the bleeding scares now, for everyone on here I hope!!!!!!! xxx

Yep beemeck you belong right here. Your baby needed a lot of extra special care and assistance to finally make it this far, no matter what that method was. Same as all of ours. Xx


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## rebecca822

Thank you ladies for all your support!

I'm so worried that something will go wrong, something always goes wrong!!
I wish we can all just fast forward till the birth of our little babies :)


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## Fern81

Having my first biochemistry risk profile blood tests today.... downs, trisomy 18 & 13. Hoping for the best.


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## rebecca822

Good luck fern- when do you get the results?


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## Myshelsong

Is anyone else doing that test? I opted out for it, just doing the ultrasounds. Is it covered where you are from? Would you do this test and not the IPT tests that are done a bit later that involve ultrasounds?


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## rebecca822

Myshel- I don't think we will do the tests either. I believe insurance covers it but I'd rather not know.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong said:


> Is anyone else doing that test? I opted out for it, just doing the ultrasounds. Is it covered where you are from? Would you do this test and not the IPT tests that are done a bit later that involve ultrasounds?

We do blood tests that show markers for downs & other problems and then the nauchal translucency test when we get to 12 weeks. Bloods are drawn a week before. It's all covered. Yes we'll be doing them. I wouldn't want a surprise come delivery, better to be educated on how to deal with a special baby than not.

With my last pregnancy there was a free trail to do the Harmony test so we did that at 10 weeks. I especially was worried about that one knowing it was a natural pregnancy and DH and I wrre 39 and 44 at the time. High risk for problems. But the babies I'm carrying are donor embryo from a 22 and 28 year old female & make that match our profiles. Everything should be fine.


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> Myshelsong said:
> 
> 
> Is anyone else doing that test? I opted out for it, just doing the ultrasounds. Is it covered where you are from? Would you do this test and not the IPT tests that are done a bit later that involve ultrasounds?
> 
> We do blood tests that show markers for downs & other problems and then the nauchal translucency test when we get to 12 weeks. Bloods are drawn a week before. It's all covered. Yes we'll be doing them. I wouldn't want a surprise come delivery, better to be educated on how to deal with a special baby than not.
> 
> With my last pregnancy there was a free trail to do the Harmony test so we did that at 10 weeks. I especially was worried about that one knowing it was a natural pregnancy and DH and I wrre 39 and 44 at the time. High risk for problems. But the babies I'm carrying are donor embryo from a 22 and 28 year old female & make that match our profiles. Everything should be fine.Click to expand...

2have- I didn't realize you used donor embryos. So with donors they don't automatically do PGD? I sort of assumed that's what is done. 
I agree that I would like to be prepared in advance if there was a problem, but I'm sort of scared of finding out. i know someone who was told her baby had downs and she spent her whole pregnancy depressed and sad and the baby was born healthy!!


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## froggyfrog

We are doing the test even though our embryos were tested. My re told me that she still recommend the testing because with pgd there is a 1% chance that it was wrong. My sil and her husband had gotten told that their little girl was downs, but they weren't really concerned because the ultrasound showed the baby was developing normally. There would be abnormal development if the baby were truly downs. And I think it's pretty common to need the scan to match with the testing in order to have a diagnosis


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## Myshelsong

We are going to talk ant it tonight. It is not covered by our insurance so would be around 650$, which I really don't want to pay. Ugh more things to worry about.
I am only 34 which is why it isn't covered. 40 + and it is covered


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## beemeck

I won't be doing it either Rebecca, for the same reasons. I'm okay to skip it.


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## 2have4kids

Every pregnant lady in Csnada gets the basic Downs and Trisomy screening. If the odds come out high then there's the free option of an amniocentesis (no thanks) or you can pay for conclusive bloodwork. If the bloods + nt showed high chances of Downs or Trisomy we'd do the conclusive Harmony test (@$750). There's no way I'd have high odds hanging over my head the entire pregnancy without knowing conclusively. 

It was explained to us that pgd is designed for older couples doing ivf and people with genetic issues in their family. Our donors were young and the embryos were top grade, very unlikely to have issues.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - so glad everything is ok!

I've thought about testing, but I have no idea what I'm going to do. I need to meet with an actual OB to discuss further and that won't be for a few more weeks. I figured they would explain all my options then. That is one of the downsides of RE/fertility treatments, you get all these ultrasounds but you miss the initial visits with your OB. Since I'm a new time mom it would have been nice to get some additional info. I'm changing OBs and my RE will refer me to my new OB in a week.


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## Myshelsong

2have4kids said:


> Every pregnant lady in Csnada gets the basic Downs and Trisomy screening. If the odds come out high then there's the free option of an amniocentesis (no thanks) or you can pay for conclusive bloodwork. If the bloods + nt showed high chances of Downs or Trisomy we'd do the conclusive Harmony test (@$750). There's no way I'd have high odds hanging over my head the entire pregnancy without knowing conclusively.
> 
> It was explained to us that pgd is designed for older couples doing ivf and people with genetic issues in their family. Our donors were young and the embryos were top grade, very unlikely to have issues.

That's right. The IPT test is totally covered but it sounds kinda horrible having to wait so long and there being so many false negatives .... On the other hand we will get to see the little guy again, which is why I am thinking we should just do it. :dohh:


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## beemeck

Rq ive been thinking the same thing about the re. With my first pregnancy I had my initial ob appt and got to ask a bunch of questions. At my re it's only scans and nothing else. I'm so looking forward to the ob !


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## Rq120

So question: are nuchal scans routine?? I just called my new OB's office and they tell me that unless you are at risk nuchal scans are not routinely done.


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## Myshelsong

You can opt out of it, but anyone in their mid thirties it is recommended. Or at least my Doctors office is recommending it.


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## Fern81

Seems like it's routine here; at least everyone I know in my area (who sees a private ob at a private hospital) has had it done. I asked for the minimum amount of tests and scans, just those that are really necessary because my medical aid fund pays for NO pregnancy related appointments or bloodwork. Whether it's covered depends on which insurance/aid plan you are on in RSA. We can't afford a better plan atm. At the 12 week scan the dr will apparently check everything that can be measured and tested (fetal assessment) and then again at 20 weeks, combined with blood tests.

Anyway I'm happy to have it done. I would also like to be prepared for the possibility of a special needs child so that we can plan for the future. 

No idea when I will get the results. I'm assuming the dr will discuss them with me at my 12 week scan.


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## 2have4kids

RQ if you're in most European countries, Canada/Common Wealth countries the nt + bloods after 30 is routine. If your score is higher than 1 in 500 then it's recommended doing a conclusive test to find out. Planning for special needs isn't easy, there's education and medical assistance involved. In Italy and some other countries they actually recommend terminating pregnancy if you're carrying a chromosomally compromised baby. They have a very low prevalence of Downs & Trisomy weighing on their healthcare systems as a result. It's a very mechanical way of doing it but I like the way Canada & Britain (and it sounds like South Africa) do it by the routine anatomy scan which looks at other features as well as the neck Nauchal translucence paired up with blood markers. You're in the office at 12 weeks anyways, they just pair it all up to give you some indication of the likelihood of trouble. If you need to prepare then the assistance is there for you. Some of the things they test for like Turners Syndrome can end in late pregnancy or first year of life and require extra medical assistance. It's a decent way for preparing to caring for those babies that need extra attention.


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## rebecca822

Rq- even though we are with an RE now when I switch to my OB I still get the "first pregnancy appointment" so it's as if it's my first time being seen this pregnancy. I'll have the opportunity to ask questions, and discuss all the testing.
I'm hoping to see my OB at 13 weeks.


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## Rq120

rebecca822 said:


> Rq- even though we are with an RE now when I switch to my OB I still get the "first pregnancy appointment" so it's as if it's my first time being seen this pregnancy. I'll have the opportunity to ask questions, and discuss all the testing.
> I'm hoping to see my OB at 13 weeks.

Yes, I'm seeing them at 12 weeks and 2 days. But they won't be doing an US because I will have just had one at 10 weeks at my RE. And when I asked about the nuchal screening they said their office doesn't do it. I was just confused. I mean I guess it's not THAT big of a deal because they will do other screenings (quad and the 20 week anomaly US), but it was just confusing and the girl that was scheduling the appt was kinda clueless. It took me over 24 mins to schedule an appt! But she did go ask the nurse about the screening.


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## 2have4kids

Rq120 said:


> rebecca822 said:
> 
> 
> Rq- even though we are with an RE now when I switch to my OB I still get the "first pregnancy appointment" so it's as if it's my first time being seen this pregnancy. I'll have the opportunity to ask questions, and discuss all the testing.
> I'm hoping to see my OB at 13 weeks.
> 
> Yes, I'm seeing them at 12 weeks and 2 days. But they won't be doing an US because I will have just had one at 10 weeks at my RE. And when I asked about the nuchal screening they said their office doesn't do it. I was just confused. I mean I guess it's not THAT big of a deal because they will do other screenings (quad and the 20 week anomaly US), but it was just confusing and the girl that was scheduling the appt was kinda clueless. It took me over 24 mins to schedule an appt! But she did go ask the nurse about the screening.Click to expand...

They can only do nt between 12-13 weeks as the measurement has to be precise. Beyond that timeframe there needs to be different screening ie harmony. It sounds like in the States women need to figure put how/where to get tested. It's shocking to me they aren't more comprehensive & organized.


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## Rq120

I think part of it is transitioning from a RE to an OB. I bet there wouldn't be as much confusion if I had just started with the OB from the beginning.


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## Fern81

Hi ladies, hope you are all having a nice relaxed weekend. We've done a ton of home renovations this past (knocked down walls, painted other walls, ripped out carpet etc) and it was so nice to sit back and do no more cleaning today!

Question: how much weight have you ladies gained so far? I'm still not impressed with myself for giving in to sweets too easily (I NEVER thought I would eat this much during pregnancy!). And have gained 2,5kg already. :(


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## 2have4kids

i've gained about 8 lbs. I really hate not being able to get into the gym. I eat like crazy without the feel-good of working out. I'm going to try to gently get back in after 12 weeks. And going back to work in Aug will take me away from all the food here at home.

With DD I gained 4 lbs in 1st tri and 24 total. 4 extra from my initial weight before pregnancy right after birth. I gained a little bf-ing as it made me so hungry. I'd like to ensure I only gaina max of 30-35 with these twins. That's what they recommend anyway and I don't want to be feeling terrible when I have to take care of them, with DD the birth was easy and I attribute that to staying in shape the whole pregnancy. I pushed her out in 2 pushes:haha: i asked the doc what would happen if I pushed now (they weren't ready for me) and they said that baby could fly out & hit the wall. So I waited patiently for them to get their stuff together. Somehow I don't think this pregnancy will be as fit as the last one, I already feel like a whale.


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## froggyfrog

I just weighed myself, and I have gained 4 lbs. I told dh that i think the scale is wrong because I'm down from last week, and he said that my bump isn't as big as it was last week. So I'm thinking that my bloat was to blame and I'm finally losing it, and my bump is now baby and not bloat.


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## froggyfrog

I feel like I want to be healthy and happy though thus pregnancy, so I will make the best choices I can with bad choices occasionally. I'm going to try not to freak too much about my weight gain. When I was younger I would have rather starve myself and be skinny and would go days without food. I still have really bad body image issues so being pregnant is going to be rough, but I'm going to really try to just focus on health and not numbers


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## rebecca822

I am definitely not being healthy. I've gained about half a pound so far. I am dealing hoping to keep the weight gain to a minimum. 
Although I'm eating crap I'm not eating a lot. For example two nights last week I had French fries for dinner. Although it's super unhealthy that's all I ate.
Until I woke up at 2am for a snack ;)


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## Fern81

Rebecca is it because of your nausea? 

Lol milestone for me as I started vomiting this morning for the first time uuggghhh.... after not having many symptoms and even the hunger dizzies were something I could cope with, I've been announcing to everyone that I guess I'm one of the lucky few that don't get ms. Well.... no. Yesterday morning I started feeling really nauseated after a glass of water. Last night I asked dh to get some of my favourite cupcakes and I could smell the margarine in the frosting!! (I had always thought it was cream cheese frosting). I felt so unwell and uncomfortable for the rest of the evening (that's when I posted the weight gain question); woke up with waves of nausea all night and am MAN DOWN this morning. Hubby says it's because I keep complaining about not feeling pregnant. I hope it's just a tummy bug, otherwise my weight gain issues will probably be the opposite for a while.


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## 2have4kids

Oh Fern you poor thing, that sounds awful! You could smell the margerine?:rofl:

Keep your blood sugar up as best you can, watch the sugary foods they'll make you rollercoaster with nausea. Protein and complex carbs...and maybe suck on some popsicles (coconut water or gatorade) if you can't keep liquids down. Worked for DD & DH when we got the tummy bug. I hope you feel better soon!


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## Myshelsong

I think I am up about 4-5 lbs but most of that was during week 7 when the nausea and hunger started and I couldn't stop snacking for the life of me. No weight gain in the last three weeks, which I am happy with. I am a "big" girl, unfortunately I gained over 50 during the last five years of ttc due to depression and an inactive job, and never lost it. Trying to get back on the band wagon of healthy eating and moderate excersize, but I know I am not suppose to limit calories too much, so just hoping not to gain anything more this pregnancy. We will see what my Dr says when I meet him at .... 20 weeks!

Had moms Bday dinner yesterday, me and hubs took her and Dad to restaurant near by that was right on a lake and it was beautiful. We had a great dinner then came back here for some desserts I picked up at an Italian bakery. Sooo good.
Now we have a family pool party this afternoon they are putting on to celebrate with cousins and aunts and everything. It is going to be so busy!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so sorry you're feeling sick. 

For me I think the lack of weight gain is due to my poor appetite and nausea.


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## beemeck

I don't have a scale and since all the re does is scans, I have no idea. I think I've prob gained something as my pants aren't really fitting , but I know sometimes you can go up in inches without weight gain. But this bloat is not messing around ! Lol. I am surprised that I'm struggling a bit with it. I didn't think I would. But I've been the same size for the past 15 years so it has been off putting. I find that I'm already worried that I will never go back to pre baby bod. I just need to know that I'm eating healthy and my body is doing what it needs to do ...


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## Fern81

Thanks ladies I'm feeling a bit better and have really tried to eat healthy foods today. Lentils and toast both seem to have gone down ok. Good news is after smelling those cupcakes yesterday I do NOT want any junk food or sweets!! :). I really hope it was just a bug and not the start of morning sickness. 

Rebecca if your poor tummy is doing ok with potatoes then maybe you will be able to eat sweet potatoes? Just a suggestion - they are a superfood and cause a much smaller blood sugar spike. X

Beemeck- the bloat is real lol!! Don't worry, google 7 weeks bellies & most of them will look like yours!

Froggy- it's shocking how many ladies on here admit to having very bad body image & starving, binge-eating, even to eating disorders. Including me. I starved myself for YEARS (since childhood until I was about 25) and then started overeating a lot after I got divorced. I still hate my body even though it's small-ish.... just find it so flabby and saggy. It's sad how so many normal women who have mostly healthy lifestyles, still strongly dislike their bodies. A modern disease :(. 

Anyone find the guidelines for how much food (and how much of each food group) to eat daily, to be a LOT? I thought I was eating too much but looking at e.g. meal plans from fitpregnancy, I'm baffled. I would never be able to eat that much in a day! Guess that gap is what prenatal vits are for??


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## rebecca822

Fern- thank you for the suggestion of sweet potatoes, that doesn't sound half bad.
I think I've read that you only need about 200 calories extra when pregnant.


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## froggyfrog

Fern it really is horrible. There is so much pressure to be "perfect " now days. My weight fluctuates a lot, but I'm the biggest I have ever been and I blame it on two rounds of Stims. I'm lucky my dh likes me a little thicker, he is always telling me that he loves my body, so that kind of helps me not be too hard on myself.


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## rebecca822

Froggy I'm happy your hubby doesn't pressure you about your weight. Especially since it's so difficult to maintain when cycling.
My mother in law is so critical of my weight, she literally watches everything I eat. I feel so self conscious around her.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca, that's not good about your mil! What happens with baby comes? Will she be overbearing? 

I lost 60+ pounds before ttc 6 years ago. With the failed cycles & depression my weight has fluctuated a bit too. I've got pregnant naturally twice when I was losing weight, mc the first and welcomed our DD last year. It's easier for me to lose by cutting out carbs and mainly having veg & protein sort of paleo diet. I'm convinced it's good for my fertility. My DH met me at a bmi of 28, in married life I got up to 31 and when I was having troubles ttc my gf who's a nurse said I should get down to a low bmi if I wanted either my hormones to work properly or to respond to ivf stims. So I took a year and dropped the weight dosn to ~ a bmi of 24. I still didn't respond to ivf drugs, in fact my fs joked to my horror that my eggs actually got smaller :dohh: but I finally found what works for me to lose weight and maintain. I had been unhappy for so long and while I now can't seem to get pregnant, at least I figured out how to be a bit happier with the body. 

It seems there's always a struggle of some sort right? In the next 5 years it'll be with money and kids for us. DH lost his job June 2015 and he's not expecting anything soon (he's very specialized in oil) and we'll have 3 kids all under the age if 2. Hoy! Fun times!


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## Fern81

Oh wow 2have that's not a nice position to be in :( hope he finds a good job soon against all odds. X

Rebecca- mil sounds exhausting! I'm also curious to hear if she is that overbearing in other aspects of your life too? You are one strong lady to be able to deal with her even while she is making you feel so self-conscious. 

Hope everyone else is doing ok!

So far it seems like yesterday was just a 24hr stomach flu, feeling normal again. Still hoping it wasn't ms starting up hehe.


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## 2have4kids

Fern glad to hear you're feeling better!


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## Prayingforno1

Hi everyone. So we had our scan on Saturday and our little bean was dancing away-so cute I can't stop smiling. Next scan 3 weeks.

So we gave my parents and brother the I love my grandma, grandpa and uncle onesies today to announce our pregnancy. They were so clueless. My dad put it on his head and my mom thought it was for our dogs:dohh:. A true lol moment. Once we explained the point of the onesies they were so excited and smiling from ear to ear. I told them we don't want to tell anyone else until we are further along but I expect my dad will be the weakest link and somehow will let it "slip" in his excitement lol. DH sent his sister the I love my aunty onesie picture and she figured it out instantly. She was super excited even started crying. Said she can't believe she's finally going to be an aunty. Feels good to have everyone just as excited as us!! 

We won't be announcing to anyone else they will know when they see my bump. Well apart from work, I'll be telling my manager at 12 weeks.


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## Myshelsong

Fern glad you are doing better!

Praying that is such a cute story. Glad everyone eventually figured it out lol!! Your sister in law sounds adorable. Glad your scan went well!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so happy you're feeling better today.

Praying- that's so sweet i love your announcements!

I keep begging DH to let me tell people already and he's being so stubborn about it. 
My mother in law is very opinionated I've just learned to never disagree with her opinion or she'll jump down my throat. 
She's really sweet and nice and very generous with gifts but she also has a wicked side to her ;)


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## Fern81

Praying- awww lovely announcement story & so happy your bubs is doing well!!

Rebecca so nobody knows yet? Lol you have more self-discipline than I do! My family has already started giving our baby small gifts and we all have a nickname for him/her.... Sometimes I worry about what we'll do if it's a mc but then again we have 2 more embies so I don't want to think about being childless atm... (which was pretty much my future until this past May!). It will be so nice once you guys do announce and feel comfortable with it, especially after your history. X

Rq- how do you feel post-meds? :)

I also stopped taking crinone yesterday so no more messy underwear lol, so I thought but TMI I'm having blobs of what I think is mucus plug discharge hahaha! Always a new surprise around the corner lol.


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## Prayingforno1

Well after our scan on Saturday we decided we'd wait until my next scan but yesterday morning when we got up DH said well let's tell our immediate family. Before that none of our family knew and it was killing me to let someone in on our secret lol.

So we finally fully moved this weekend. OMG moving is so much work, I do not envy anyone who has to constantly move. We still have a bit to do to get everything fully organized/put away but we are getting there. It's so exciting waking up in a new home and neighborhood.


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## rebecca822

Fern- my sister in law knows. By hubby doesn't know I told her...

2 more weeks and then we tell our parents.

So I went on the scale this morning and looks like I gained 2 pounds so far. I guess it's finally catching up to me :)


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## Prayingforno1

2 lbs is good Rebecca. I'm sure I gained 4/5 so far. They didn't weigh me the last visit but the last few dr visits my weight stayed the same but last week I was eating like a pig. Back to healthy eating/snacking this week.


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## beemeck

hi girls!

praying - love the announcement to your fam!!! :happydance:

we did things very differently since everyone in my family knew of our struggles (everyone knew about our first loss and that we had tried for it, and they knew that we were going to start trying again) so we announced to my entire fam on father's day. got it on camera so it's a great moment :flower: now hopefully nothing goes wrong! 

fern - I've been having that mucous-y discharge for a bit now. I wonder if you had been too, but didn't notice with the progesterone. I'm not on progesterone so I've been able to tell that's it's been there for a little more than a week. although oddly enough, it's only really coming out in toilet when I pee :shrug:

hope everyone is feeling well! I still feel totally fine and am a little freaked out, but have some other symptoms that I'm trying to remain calm with. boobs are still sore (off and on) and omg I'm breaking out like mad!

wearing the belly band today :dohh: couldn't even make it to 8 weeks :blush: pants are just not buttoning. size 0 is very unforgiving. you gain a pound and you've overstayed your welcome ! :haha:


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## Prayingforno1

beemeck I picked up a belly band on the weekend. I will soon need it for some of my work pants that I felt were getting tighter in the waist. Sorry to hear your "girlies" are sore.


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## froggyfrog

I get the discharge too! It's yucky! 

Rq are you feeling any difference being off of progesterone? I have a little more energy now and my bloating has gone down. 

Beemeck, I'm already wearing maternity clothes! I started full time last week. My tummy is just poking out too much for regular clothes. 

Praying your announcement sounds so adorable! 

Rebecca, 2 lbs is good! Since you aren't able to eat much, it's probably increased blood volume.
I found this on WebMD 

Baby: 8 poundsPlacenta: 2-3 poundsAmniotic fluid: 2-3 poundsBreast*tissue: 2-3 poundsBlood*supply: 4 poundsStored fat for delivery and*breastfeeding: 5-9 poundsLarger uterus: 2-5 poundsTotal: 25-35 pounds

Afm, I have my first OB appointment tomorrow! I'm really excited! And I'm only a week away from 2nd tri, I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone so far. It still feels so surreal. I have seen him moving around, and I hear him all of the time on my doppler, but sometimes I have to think "is this real?" It's like we have prayed to God for so long for this, and then boom, God said OK here you go! It's weird!


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## beemeck

For such a simple contraction, I must say its amazing ! And the girls (though they have grown a lot) are small so luckily they don't get in the way much lol.


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## Rq120

Hi ladies! I took my last progesterone dose Sunday night so I've only been off for one day. So far so good. No cramping or anything like that, so I think the placenta is doing it's job. I did sleep better last night and maybe made one less trip to the bathroom. I had to switch from IM to the vag suppositories due to an allergic reaction, so I'm not sure I'll be less bloated but that sure would be nice. I have days where my jean don't fit and the next day they fit great. I can feel my lower belly starting to get hard. I'm sure my uterus is working on poking above that pelvic bone because of the twins.

I have my last RE ultrasound Thursday. Then my first OB appt 7/26. My boss just told me that I might have a work trip that week so I'm a little nervous of the timing. The OB office had to squeeze me in just to get that appt. I started to worry and then I told myself not to stress and wait to deal with the situation as it unfolds. My boss is new and he lives out of state. He comes to the office 1-2 weeks a month. Since I don't know him really well it's hard to discuss personal issues and I'm not sure when I'm going to tell him.

For some reason I'm really shy about being pregnant and I'm nervous about telling people outside of my family. Couldn't tell you why. I know my work team would be fine about it. Is anyone else feeling that way?


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## Fern81

Froggy I can't believe you're basically 12weeks already! Please remind me again, will you be doing the nt scan etc tomorrow? Hope it all goes so well. Congrats on the maternity wear :) I think all of us have slightly bigger bumps due to ivf/meds swelling but so what it's part of our hard won battle scars :).

Rq- oh my gosh I feel exactly the same! At first I was so excited to tell close family and friends but now I don't want to tell anyone else. It feels so personal all of a sudden!! I haven't even told the friend who was one of my bridesmaids. ... and I don't want to lol. I don't think I'm being rational but yeah, there you go. Gl telling your boss!


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## Myshelsong

RQ - glad you are doing well off the progesterone, I still have another week as per my fertility clinics instruction. But I don't think we are doing any bloods to confirm... So I am nervous. 

Rebecca 2 lbs is great!

Making a hearty veggie soup today to have during lunches and snacks when I want. Getting bored of carrot sticks so this is a good option for me to get my veggies in! Added some quinoa so it has almost everything.


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## froggyfrog

Myshel your soup sounds amazing! 

Fern, I know this sounds horrible, but I really have no idea what tomorrow will be like. I'm going to ask all of these things.


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## froggyfrog

I just spoke with my nurse, tomorrow I will have a full physical, go over medical history for me and dh, have blood drawn, and urine test and talk about genetic testing. I think that me and dh are leaning toward no nt scan.


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## rebecca822

Wow, lots going on today!

Froggy it's interesting that you say you feel like time has flown for you. I feel like the days are endless and just not moving!! My due date is so far away I just want to meet my babies already!

Rq- can't wait to hear about your appt Thursday. Mine will be tomorrow morning, and I'm so anxious to see my babies. No OB appointment scheduled yet.

Myshelsong - your soup does sound delicious you've inspired me to go make a pot of soup. I'll think I'll throw some beans in there to add protein. I hope I have all the veggies on hand I am too lazy to go shopping.


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## Prayingforno1

Time is flying by for everyone!! I get so excited when I see updates from everyone. We will all soon be in the second trimester!! 

Myshelsong-your soup sounds really good and I like Rebeccas's idea of adding beans, I love red kidney beans.

I see alot of you ladies are weaning or already off of your support meds. I am still on mine and should be off them completely by 12weeks. I have to do daily clexane injections so that part I can't wait to be over for sure. My tummy looks like a battle ground with bruising atm.


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## 2have4kids

Ahh, I'm with Rebecca, I feel the dsys are endlesss snd I want things to get moving already! 
On the topic of soup, I've befn wanting to learn how to make bone broth soup for a long time. It's meant to be great for your immune system. What does one do for say a chicken bone broth soup?


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> Ahh, I'm with Rebecca, I feel the dsys are endlesss snd I want things to get moving already!
> On the topic of soup, I've befn wanting to learn how to make bone broth soup for a long time. It's meant to be great for your immune system. What does one do for say a chicken bone broth soup?

I make chicken soup all the time. I don't necessarily only use bones I use a whole chicken. I put the chicken in a cheesecloth bag since I don't like it falling apart all over the soup.
Lots of veggies (carrot, celery, onion,zucchini, parsnip, turnip, fresh dill)
And a just salt for the spices.

Cook for about 4-5 hours


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## Myshelsong

Bone broth is easy, I make it regularly then freeze it in ice cubes to use for later dates. I save up my chicken bones and freeze them until I have enough to make a big batch. You can make it a few different ways. 
I like to use browned/cooked bones - so from a cooked chicken or cook it after deboning a chicken. I start the stock with celery, onion, carrots, water and the chicken bones. I boil on low for a few hours, add salt and once the water is reduced by half I strain and it is ready to go. You can add spices, use the stock for soups, freeze for use later (like in rice and pastas), super easy and better than store bought stock.

Soup turned out great, more of a veggie stew consistency I put so many veggies in. So tasty, glad I made it!

Good luck on your physical froggy.

Can't wait to hear about everyone else's appointments, I feel mine are so far and few compared to you guys.


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## 2have4kids

Thsnks ladies for the tips. I'm going to make some this weekend


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## rebecca822

Good morning!

I think we have two boys :)

The tech said its not 100% accurate but it looks like boys.

I'll send pictures of them a bit later.


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## beemeck

omg rebecca - so early! congrats! hope it's what you were hoping for :flower:

rq - how funny - my scan is tomorrow also and I'm trying to schedule my first OB for the 26 too! 

I know nothing about bone broth soup as I am vegan - ick. but the veggie soup sounded wonderful! :haha:

so I went to my first prenatal yoga class last night. It's early, but I've been wanting to start for awhile. my friend who had a stillborn and is pregnant again said her therapist told her it would be good to go in the beginning to make us feel pregnant. I have to say omg it was wonderful! I feel amazing and I feel a lot more connected and optimistic than I have been. I'm going to try and go twice a week now. I just feel so great and if everything is going well, will be so thankful for this smooth pregnancy. 

scan is tomorrow. super nervous as always. just want everything to be okay.


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## Fern81

Enjoy your soups ladies!!

And all the best with your scan today Froggy. Fx everything goes really well. I'm the same, don't know everything that I can expect in the next few months. Just feeling so overwhelmed with all the tests and exams and procedures; I just take it appointment by appointment.

Ugh today is one of those days when I think baby has stopped growing :/ WHY do we have to suffer so much doubt! Myshel I also don't have many scans as I have to pay cash for them all! So I've only had 1 at 7w3d and the next will only be at 12w3d. Torture!


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## Fern81

Rebecca - wanted to say gl for your scan today as well and then just saw your update, so glad it's all going well!

Lots of scans this week :) gl for the ladies going tomorrow! Xx


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## Myshelsong

How very exciting Rebecca! Can't wait to see


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## beemeck

fern I'm so sorry you are feeling this way. I have been feeling like that most days. not sure if you are able to, but the prenatal yoga really helped me de-stress and get rid of some of the anxiety. I haven't been able to shake it until then.


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## rebecca822

Fern- I know the feeling well. I literally didn't sleep last night I was so anxious for my scan.
I'm a bit surprised that they don't offer more scans. Would you be able to call and tell them that you really would like a scan?
Today my tech told me that I can come any morning without an appointment and she will fit me in.


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## Prayingforno1

Good morning ladies. Yummy soups I may just have to do a pot this weekend. GL on all the upcoming scans and I can't wait to hear how much you little beans have grown!


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## rebecca822

Baby A
 



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## rebecca822

Baby B

B was being difficult today and wouldn't let the tech get a nice picture.
 



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## Prayingforno1

Awww lovely scans Rebecca. Baby B was not into a photo shoot this morning!!


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## 2have4kids

Lovely scans Rebecca! I have my next scan on the 20th and that's when we announce. I'm very excited!


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## Fern81

Great pics Rebecca! <3
I can actually go for private scans or a scan at my new ob way more often; in fact I had one booked at 10weeks. The problem is that my medical aid fund doesn't pay for ANY pregnancy appointments (unless you are admitted to hospital) and the scans are so expensive. We are not very well-off financially so we have decided to only have the scans that are deemed medically absolutely necessary by the dr. So I ended up cancelling the 10week scan and only had the blood tests done. If I had better medical insurance I would go every week or so!


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## Fern81

Thanks so much for the kind words and suggestion beemeck. Yoga is not an option for me (due to our faith) but I actually have some other stress coping mechanisms that I just need to employ. Did a nice workout with weights today and will do stretches tonight.... just to get those endorphins flowing. So glad for your sake that you have found something that works for you. Xx


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## froggyfrog

Just got back from my OB appointment! So awesome! Before I was pregnant, if I was in a room full of pregnant people I would have felt envy. But today I was pregnant too!! I got my paperwork to fill out and mail in for preadmission registration, and got teary eyed! She listened to him on the doppler (I showed her where I find him) and we talked about testing and what I can expect. She also told me that a lot of ivf patients end up being induced, simply because they know exactly when he was concieved, so they know exactly when he come out. It kind of takes away from what I wanted to do (labor at home for awhile) but that's ok. My only goal is healthy baby! That's not to say that I won't go into labor by myself before induction, but I'm glad I'm prepared now


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## rebecca822

Congrats froggy that sounds awesome.

On the subject of induction- with my DD I knew exactly when I conceived since I used opk's. Granted it could have been 1-2 days off but in general it's close enough. I'm really against the whole "it's 40 weeks lets induce" business I think that inducing brings on a much more intense labor and it's very likely to end in a c section. It happened to me and a handful of my friends.
I was induced at 41+3 so it was definitely time but I wish thing would have been different. After 30 hours of intense labor and no progress I was given a C section. 

I just got a call from my RE that next Friday (July 22) will be my finally appointment with them!!!
I called my OB to schedule my first appointment so that will be on July 28 which is 1 day before my second trimester begins.

Fern- I didn't realize you need to pay out of pocket for everything. I totally understand why you would not do ultrasounds. They bill my insurance $380 per ultrasound which is a heck of a lot of money for 10 minutes.
Hopefully your next appointment will come soon so you can see your little baby :)


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## froggyfrog

If I do reach 40 weeks without going into labor on my own, I wouldn't be opposed to an induction. While it's not at all how I envisioned my labor and delivery story going, I wouldn't want the functionality of my placenta to decrease. Since we know exactly when 40 weeks is, we can ensure that he has been in there long enough, and prevent a stillborn birth. I'm also not completely against a c section, again not what I want at all, but if it makes myou baby get here safe I'm for anything!


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## Rq120

So I bought a pregnancy pillow (C-shaped) and it was delivered yesterday. I used it last night and it was pretty comfortable.

Unfortunately, after I woke up today I started getting terrible sciatic pain in my left side. It has been difficult to walk on and off today. I honestly think maybe I slept wrong and it isn't related to the pregnancy or the pillow, but MAN am I uncomfortable today!


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## rebecca822

Rq sorry to hear :(
Don't blame the pillow everyone seems to love it! :)
I've been thinking of buying one maybe after last nights sleep I ought to. I tossed and turned all night. (Anxiety due to this mornings appointment)


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## 2have4kids

Omg I just read your post Froggy about how your OB was saying ivf women choose to be induced or have c-sections becsuse then they can know each date? Really? I've never heard this before, generally I've heard that inducements complicate things, often lead to sections and prolong labour. I'm with you in wanting a natural before 40 weeks. DD came 4 days before I was meant to be induced on my 40th week. I was sweating it out thinking of an induction. I let her do two sweeps the week before to try to get things going and the second one probably did the trick. Sweep wasn't painful at all either, something else I was fearful about.

My 1st birth was really easy with almost no recovery time. I took a shower an hour afterwards and we had a meal 1/2 hour after that. I bled for less than a week and it wasn't even heavy. I couldn't imagine having the recovery time and pain of a c-section by choice. The women who were induced in my babies & birth class had long drawn out labours. I was terrified of being induced after hearing their experiences. I still am. Even with twins I'd like it exactly the same, a half epidural so I can feel my legs, avoid a catheder, but have all the pain of the contractions blocked out. I laboured in the shower at home from 11pm till 2am and it took so much pain away I thought contractions had stopped. But as soon as I'd step out or turn the water off bang! They were back:haha: at 2:30am I was checked into my hospital bed trying to suck on gas & air (which did nothing for me) and then at 5am I was fully dilated and ready to deliver. They gave me a half epidural and she came at 7am with 2 pushes. They laid her on me and she peed - which I told them and they were like yup, that's natural. I was like yup well can we please get a towel? Lol. I know they love to induce twins, or schedule sections but there's no way I'm agreeing to it unless there are complications ie breach, >40 weeks, or delivery complications like heart rates fall or meconium in the waters. My OB is very much like a midwife so I'm sure she'll listen and work with me.

Rq sorry to hear about your pain, hopefully it goes away. I hope you don't get that condition where your hips get so loose it's hard to walk. The progesterone loosening up our joints making our pelvis / hips fall out of alignment, it only gets better after delivery. You can do pilates & yoga to strengthen the muscles that hold the girdle & hips together *early on* as it's meant to help prevent the misalignment but if you're slready getting it everyday it sounds like you're meant to rest. 
https://livelikeyouarerich.com/a-common-medical-misdiagnosis-that-pregnant-women-need-to-know/


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## beemeck

I have the pregnancy pillow but I don't like it ! Haven't been using it because it's totally not my cup of tea. Heard so many great things so maybe once I'm bigger it'll actually come in handy but for now my dog has mostly been using it lol


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## froggyfrog

2have, maybe i worded it wrong. It wasn't that the woman choose it, but rather the clinic chooses it. It's not to know the date of the birth, she was saying that they won't let a woman who did if go past 40 weeks because they know the exact date that the baby was conceived so they know the exact age of the placenta. It's to keep from having a stillborn.


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## 2have4kids

Oh you didn't word it wrong, I understood. 2 of my friends had scheduled sections. I don't understand this unless it's being followed from a previous section - that's common. But I'm with you in not going over the 40 weeks especially being over 35, placentas don't keep as well. My OB operates the same way as yours. I haven't met with her but I just have a feeling they'll want to talk about scheduling a section for twins. No thanks!


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## froggyfrog

I really don't want to have to recover from a c section, but they say that inductions have a higher chance of leading to a c section. My clinic wont schedule a c section, just the induction.


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## Fern81

Glad your appointment went so well froggy! It warms my heart any time any of you ladies have an appointment/scan where everything goes well. :)

Rq- aaarrgghh sorry about the sucky sciatica! I agree with 2have that pregnancy-specific strengthening exercises and stretches might help, good luck I hope it lets up!!

Beemeck- I just picture your doggy on the pillow lol!

All this talk about delivery makes me feel "it's such a long way off, I won't think of it now" and then I realise again how fast time is flying (yep it's flying for me too!) especially when I look at everyone's tickers! Feeling kicks, gender/sex reveals, and then birth stories will be here before we all blink. I personally want my 12 week scan to be here NOW and then time must slow down to a crawl hehe.

How does everyone else feel about optional induction and pain meds vs all natural delivery? It was interesting to hear about your preference and amazing birth experience 2have and your hectic experience Rebecca!! also what your dr said froggy, I think we have a real advantage in knowing our dates so closely.


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## 2have4kids

Fern I went into last pregnancy thinking I'm flexible about pain meds. They went over all of the options in our class, it was great information. I thought getting her out would be the painful part, the contractions were so bad I couldn't breath. They'd tell me to suck the gas when the contraction started and I couldn't, clinging onto the bedrail for dear life! But I also fully dilated in 6 hours. The quicker the more intense? I'm happy I wasn't a hero because that epidural made life & delivery fully enjoyable. From not being able to breath to cracking jokes with the nurses & then enjoying my wee cherub. I just know I'm in for a hellush delivery now because my first was really great. On day 1 with baby we took her home and then went to class that night. Day 2 we were out for coffee with friends. I know a section would have me anchored to the bed for at least a month. :nope:


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## beemeck

I'm also surprised that your doc said that froggy. But I guess it's for the best since it's better to be safe than sorry. A friend who had an iui just got her due date moved up a week because how baby was measuring. I was shocked considering they got her pregnant so they know exactly when. Not to mention she's in a same sex relationship so it was def then lol. But I guess it was her ob that switch the day not her re. All of this stuff will be new to me. I'm officially the most pregnant I've ever been , a few days past what I made it to last time. 

I hope to be as natural as possible but already that is being shut down. I wanted to be seen at the midwife center in my city, but our freaking insurance companies are feuding and they aren't accepting mine. So I'll be with my obs as well as a midwife at the hospital.


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## Myshelsong

Blame the pillow, I have the C shaped one and like beemeck, am not a fan. It is too thick for my neck, I almost want to open it up and remove some of the stuffing. I like the back support and leg pillow portion of it though, which is a shame.

Although I would love a natural birth, I will take whatever they give me. My cousin had to have c-sections for all three of ther births due to a small birthing canal... If that is what it is. Her first son got stuck and it was pretty scary. My fear is going over to be honest, I have unfortunately known a woman who went over her dates and lost the child. So scary.


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## beemeck

I have a friend that happened to too myshel, so I am very conscious of it. and since we know our exact conception, it will def be on our minds. so yeah I think we are the most laid back group because hey we finally got our babies, we will take what we can get for sure!


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## Myshelsong

Beemeck, I want to do prenatal yoga but am stumped and what to buy or what videos online are the best. Do you have any suggestions? I am a super beginner, but need to keep something up.


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## froggyfrog

I really only have expectations for after delivery. I want delayed cord clamping,I want latch first, I want to pump colostrum just in case we have a latch issue and I can still get him some colostrum, I want delayed bath, I would like for me and dh to give him his first bath and I want dh and I to do as much kangaroo care ad we can


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## rebecca822

Myshel- my hospital offers prenatal yoga. I wish I had a friend who's pregnant at the same time that I can take along. I hate going to these things alone.
My DH insists I get into shape for my birth. I am afraid of another c section as the recovery is horrible but my chances of a natural birth this time are quite low. 
Fern- I will take all the pain meds they offer me and I'm ok being induced. 
I've been feeling pretty sick the past few weeks so my doctor has ordered me to go to the hospital for weekly hydration. He says it will make me feel a lot better and keep me from dehydrating. 
It will mean I would miss a lot of work since they are only open Monday-Friday from 8:00-3:30.
I lost a pound, so now I'm only up 1 pound since the start of pregnancy.

Rq- did you have an appointment today?


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## beemeck

done with scan. everything is good - phew. when I got there and peed, I noticed brown CM for the first time and thought oh no. but baby measured 2 days ahead and heart rate was 166. and there is def only one lol. 

myshel - I'm not too sure about yoga videos, but I could ask my instructor next class. and rebecca, and everyone else, I just can't recommend it enough. I'm not the type of person to really push things on others, but I felt so great after the class, the best I've felt in a long time. I went by myself and the instructor and other girls were really great. if you have a studio nearby myshel, check it out! it's totally acceptable for beginners :) 

I'll post of pic of baby in a bit!


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## Rq120

Yep, I have an appt in about an hour. 

Back/leg is so much better today. I rested a lot yesterday and used some heat and got in my massage chair. I didn't sleep with the pillow last night, but I will give it another try sometime soon. I WAS comfortable to me, but I just have to heal before trying again so I don't compound the problem.


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## rebecca822

Beemeck- glad your appointment went well. 166 is a lovely hr. Do you have pictures to share?

Rq- looking forward to hearing about your appointment. Good luck!!


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## beemeck

oops forgot to post. it's looking cute!
 



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## Prayingforno1

Aww nice scan beemeck!!Glad your scan/visit went well


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## nimbec

Hi ladies wonder if I can join please? I'm very newly pregnant and am in hospital due to severe ohss - drained over 9 litres of fluid from me &#128584;. My betas were a bit slow but have doubled nicely now - next test tomorrow! 

I'm about to read back over the thread but congratulations to everyone!


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## rebecca822

Beemeck- lovely scan :)

Nimbec- so glad you joined! I didn't realize you were still in the hospital. When will they let you leave?


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## Myshelsong

Hi nimbec- I was following you on the May/June IVF thread I think, I didn't realize you were still in the hospital you poor girl! I hope that you feel better soon Hun and that the little bean is holding on strong!

Beemeck - glad your scan went well! Great heart rate :hugs:
I am so self conscious, I don't think I could go to a class by myself, I know it sounds silly. I would love a suggestion on videos if your instructor has any.

Just planned our summer road trip vacation! Really excited, we are heading to a few places in Ontario and making a road trip out of it. Wish I had planned this earlier so we could have stayed longer but it is the long weekend and most places are totally booked the Saturday Sunday.


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## Rq120

Welcome Nimbec - congrats again. You deserve a BFP after all you have been through.

The scan was great today. Hubby went and he was just in awe - so cute. He said he was just so excited after the scan. Babies are both doing great. Great heartbeats and measurements are good. The nurse said lets check for movement and they both were just dancing away! The nurse said one was a gymnast and one was a swimmer. :)
Hubby just couldn't believe how much they were moving and he was like "do they normally move around that much". I laughed a little and said yes. I explained that I couldn't feel them yet and then the nurse said "well, just wait!". 
They gave me a little graduation bag as I left the office with some samples, some candy, a pretty pen, some notecards, and a letter from the doc. It was a bitter sweet goodbye because the staff is so great but I'm so blessed that my infertility journey was shorter.

I told hubby that we won't potentially see them for 2.5 more months! Crazy thought but I have to trust that they will grow healthy in there. I'll post the US pics later when I'm not at work.


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## Fern81

Lovely pic beemeck!! It's so amazing how fast they grow :) perfect little human. 

So glad your scan went well too rq :) hope you get another sneak scan in before the 20week scan. And, massage chair?? So jealous right now.

Welcome Nimbec I'm soooo happy to have you join us! What a rollercoaster and a miracle that your embie is holding on and catching up. Can't wait for your first scan soon!!! Will you be able to rest and take some time off work after you are discharged?

Myshel- aah nice. When are you going?

Afm- I'm feeling really great physically after stopping crinone, no spotting or cramping so far; very grateful for that. The few slight pregnancy symptoms I had have mostly disappeared. And emotionally a bit better today. 11 sleeps until my scan.


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## Fern81

Nimbec I'm adding you to the front page. Let us know what your edd is and I will add it in for you. X


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## Rq120

Yeah, we are lucky to have a massage chair. This is our first pregnancy/baby so we were DINKS (double income no kids) before. Now with twins we won't have nice things anymore. Lol! :wacko:

Here is the US pic from today.
 



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## Fern81

Hahaha I love the editing! Did you do it yourself? Too cute lol. And look at those babies, facial features etc. It seems like just yesterday you were still wondering about 1/2 embies to transfer!


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## rebecca822

Rq sounds like you left a great office. I hope my doctor plans to give me a gift bag. Sounds kind of nice :)

Is it boy/girl??? I see you add the blue bottle and pink bow...?


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## froggyfrog

So many great scan pictures today!!! Congrats ladies! 

Rq congrats on graduation! My office gave us a nice gift bag too! I'm lucky because my OB is in the same building as my RE so they told me I better drop by periodically, and I definitely plan too!


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## rebecca822

Question, is it customary to bring a gift for the doctors office when leaving?

Was thinking like donuts and coffee or a nice gift basket, chocolates...


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## Rq120

No, I didn't do the editing but I thought it was cute. My sister in law did it. 

Fern - I was thinking the same thing about the facial features. Its so cool. We were also able to see little fingers and toes on the US. I also feel like the transfer was yesterday. I told hubby that the end of pregnancy will sneak up on us before we know it!

Rebecca - we don't know the sexes. I'm hoping for a boy and a girl but hubby and I always say "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit".
I shared a story on the IVF thread that after transfer but before BFP I was driving down the road and high in the air there was a single baby blue balloon and a baby pink balloon. I looked over at hubby and said "that better not be our sign that we are having twins!" and it might have been. lol Since then I have seen baby pink and baby blue balloons everywhere. Like last week there were 3 bunches on the way home from work. Someone was having a wedding and they marked the signs with only baby pink and baby blue balloons (weird colors for a wedding). Or I'll see them on a restaurant sign (again only pink and blue)! It's weird and makes me laugh. I'm taking them all as a sign! We will find out if I'm right in about 2 months :)


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## Rq120

Rebecca - I don't think it's expected however being in healthcare I know when patients do bring gifts it is VERY much appreciated by the staff. I think any of those ideas are appropriate and good ideas.


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## 2have4kids

Oh ladies I've just tead the last two pages and it's SO positive on here today :flower:
Welcome Nimbec! 
I'm busy preparing for a dinner party but wanted to say congrats for the fantadtic scans & appointments! RQ so glad you're fedling better, hi yo everyone & hope you're all having a superb day mamas! Nimbec take care bella, I hope you're out of that hospital soon & feeling better with a nice bfp & upcoming scan that we can oogle over:bunny::dance:
Ps beemac I <3 yoga & pilates and will be starting back with both after the 12 werks are done and I'm off mat leave back to work. I prefer going alone, but I like my gym time alone too. It's my 'me' time.


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## Rq120

Oh I forgot to mention....the nurse is the one who did my ultrasound today. When she put in the wand we immediately saw my ovaries. She told me they were still decently enlarged. And there were several that I saw that were enlarged. So just FYI if you are still bloated or feeling fat. We are dealing with pregnancy AND multiple enlarged follicles. It was surprising to me because I thought they would have gone down by now.


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## nimbec

Thanks for the welcome ladies &#128512;
I love seeing all the pics too exciting times ladies! 

Rq that's interesting about the follies as I'm still currently battling with 26 still enlarged -I didn't have that many in the first place..bizarre. Yes still in hospital as bloods are not right and still filling up with fluid &#128584; I'm wondering when it will get better...in some ways I'll worry when it does as hcg is what drives the ohss. They said they have never seen a case as severe as mine at this hospital! They are in talks with the fertility clinic to make a plan. Another beta today so please keep everything crossed!! I'm very nervous of the outcome. 

Hope you all have a great day.


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## Fern81

Nimbec I'll pray for you and bubs!! Wow I can't believe you are the lucky winner of such an unusual case. I bet the drs all want to write papers about your case and be the one to cause the breakthrough in your treatment :X. 

Rq- yep mine were also still very swollen at my 7week scan, I think I posted about it. Googled and apparently it's quite common & that's why ivf ladies "show" bloat/baby bumps much sooner. I can STILL feeling my ovary paining a lot especially now that baby is growing. Wonder when it will start to go down!

If I didn't need my ovaries to produce estrogen& progesterone in the future I would quite happily have them removed after having all my frozen embies transferred lol.... I am SO done with ttc. 

Rq I also love looking for signs even if just for fun :) so random a wedding with b/p balloons! 

Rebecca I also used to work in health care (practice management) and let me tell you many patients only thank the dr, and of course the dr gets to put 90% of the money in her/his pocket, so thanking and acknowledging the whole team is an incredibly thoughtful gesture. Just shows what a sweetie you are <3

11 weeks today. Wait, what!?


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## rebecca822

Happy 11 weeks fern!
Today I'm 10 :)


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## 2have4kids

Nimbec, fx for you for a healthy beta rise. I hope they're keeping you comfortable in the hospital. 

RQ that's definitely a sign! Wouldn't that be amazing if you got one of each. 
There was a thing that happened in my city yesterday, very weird and made me cry last night. A little gorgeous 5 year old was kidnapped and when they found her the most absolutely beautiful rainbow lit up over the entire city. Fb filled up with tears and pictures of this rainbow. It's amazing how we get definite 'signs' sometimes. I'll apologize for a sad story but it was so relevent and so amazing.

Rebecca what a kind gesture to treat your fs team. The world is a much better place when people express their gratitude for the good things that happen. I'm sure they'll all appreciate whatever you decide to treat them with!

Fern 11 weeks! Wowzers, you're so close to graduating to second tri:dance::bunny:
Do you get to start tapering off your drugs next week?

Myshelsong how was the roadtrip?

Praying, beemack, and Froggy how are you two feeling?


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## beemeck

nimbec - welcome love! and I'm so sorry for all that you've been going through. I was a "medical anomaly" case last year with my cervical ectopic and though it was overwhelming that so many docs were in and out trying to see what it was all about, I hoped that it could help someone in the future. hang in there and I'll be sending so many positive vibes and thoughts your way :hugs::hugs:

I did forget to mention yesterday that they found a large cyst on my right ovary. the doc said he wants my obs to keep an eye on it, so I'm hoping that means more scans! I made my first OB for the 27th (they didn't have anything for the 26th) so I'm happy to be keeping up with an appt every other week. 

I'm still feeling great and now I'm finally appreciating it. I hated that I didn't have any symptoms because I thought it meant something had gone wrong. but now that I know that I've been symptom free with a healthy baby in me, I love it!! :happydance:

I hope everyone else is feeling well too - so many of you are about to be in second tri! :happydance::happydance:


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## Myshelsong

2have - I don't know why I never realized that you were in Rocky Mountain area. I have been watching the news and reading all the articles on that girl, it is heart breaking. I read the news this morning when I woke up and started bawling. It is heartbreaking. 

This world is so crazy right now. The Nice terror attack is so scary, we were there five years ago for our honey moon and remember standing right where this happened. It is so sad that this is happening all over the world. I am having a sad morning, weird dreams all night did not help. I think I had multiple miscarriage dreams that have put me on edge. Freaking out.

Nimbec- holy moly that is intense! I am suprise do that your clinic did the transfer if you were having suck issues, or did it come up after the transfer happened? I hope you feel better soon 

I am officially jealous of everyone here that gets to go to the Drs more than once a month! Sounds like most of you go once a week or at least every other week.


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## beemeck

we were in Nice 2 months ago. It's so devastating. I shouldn't have looked through the pics because I recognize all of the locations and it makes it even more heartbreaking. it really is horrible to have to hear about this kind of stuff on a weekly basis. :cry:


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## Fern81

So shocking and tragic about Nice :( I don't even want to turn on the news today. It makes me realise again how precious each day that we get to spend with our loved ones is.

Myshel - please remind me when is your next scan? Mine are also way too few and far between, I think after the 12 week one I will only go again at 20 weeks. At the same time it feels like the weeks are flying by.

2have I was only taking vaginal crinone (progesterone) gel each morning after my bfp; have already stopped taking it on Monday! A day or so after stopping it I didn't feel dizzy/sea sick anymore and my skin cleared up a lot, I think that contributed to me feeling "not pregnant" on Wednesday. However, I've not had any spotting or cramping. Today I feel empowered that my body is carrying a fetus all by itself! Being off crinone is great. I'm still taking asprin though due to a blood clotting issue.


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## Fern81

Myshel- uhh hun I hate those dreams that make you feel upset for the whole next day :/ hope your weekend is better! You are almost 12weeks and mc rates are sooo low for how far you are xx

Oh Rebecca I didn't realise our weeks both tick over on a Friday! Happy double digits :)


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## Rq120

Fern - the nurse mentioned that the ovaries should be decreasing soon for me because they won't have to support the pregnancy with the placenta taking over. The whole corpus lutem cyst thing.

I'm so ready to be off and start the weekend! We are camping this weekend and are going boating on the lake tomorrow. Work just seems so drab today and I'm ready for some nature and fun. Hope you all have a great weekend!


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## Prayingforno1

Nimbec-Welcome welcome welcome!! Hope you are able to get out of hospital soon with your little bean snuggled in tightly. 

RQ-I really hope that is a sign boy/girl twins would be awesome

Rebecca-I am thinking of a small thankyou for my clinic as well. Considering a nice assortment of pastries-they are awesome so I definitely need to thank them

Fern-11 Weeks whoop whoop!!! Congrats hun, I am right behind you :)

beemeck-hope the cyst doesn't cause any problems but yey to more scans and times to see your little bean

Rq120-Camping sounds like fun. Enjoy your weekend.

I hope I didn't miss anyone, just trying to catch up with you busy ladies. I have been feeling really sick this past week which is why my posting has been a bit sporadic. The nausea is killing me and all I want to do is wrap up in bed and be alone all day :(. I am hoping this all stops when I am in the 2nd tri but for the moment I am not a happy camper. I've tried small meals, no carbs, ginger, watermelon, banana etc and I still get the nausea. Sigh. I am definitely over the moon to be pregnant and carrying our little bean but I can't wait for this phase to be behind me. 
No major plans for my weekend just looking for mirrors for our bathrooms and maybe get my hair done (depends how I feel). Hope you ladies have a great weekend!


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## rebecca822

I was just reading about the Nice terror attack. So heartbreaking.
There was an American dad and son vacationing and they were among the victims. How horrifying this attack is.

Praying- sorry you're feeling so horrible I can relate. Can you ask your doctor to get you some IV fluids? They certainly help. I'm going Monday for IV fluids.

Myshel- I get horrible dreams to. I awake in fear that it's really going to happen.


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## Prayingforno1

Rebecca-If this continues I may need to reach out to my doctor.


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## rebecca822

Prayingforno1 said:


> Rebecca-If this continues I may need to reach out to my doctor.

You don't have to suffer until then. I was so so sick when I was pregnant with my daughter. Was hospitalized for dehydration a handful of times. Before I got pregnant I spoke to my OB and he told me that there's no harm in adding IV fluids even if you're not yet dehydrated. 
Since I was really sick the past 2 weeks and vomitted several times a day I called my OB and he put in an order for me at the hospital.


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## Prayingforno1

Thanks for the tip Rebecca, something I need to seriously look into.


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## Fern81

Praying- did you end up going to the dr?


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## rebecca822

I'm feeling so huge!! I was with my family all day today and I'm wondering if they suspect I'm pregnant. It's hard to hide my belly. At first I thought it was bloat but it's sticking around :)


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## Fern81

My belly is so round. I definitely can't hide it anymore except underneath large jackets! Dh commented on it being a "round pregnant " belly instead of just a thickened waist/bloaty look as of week 10. Hope I don't get too huge! Only 3 of my jeans still fit around my waist and its SO cold here omw I can't wear skirts or yoga pants so I'm stuck doing laundry every day lol! Hope this doesn't turn out to be a huge baby... my dh and his 3 brothers are all enormous... mil told me all her babies were so big that she had to have a cs each time. Even her TWINS were almost 4kg each!! Oh dear :)


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## 2have4kids

Fern, with my last pregnancy my mom bought me a long nursing /pregnancy hoodie. It was super expensive but so comfy that I wanted one more so I went onto ebay and found a seller who does similar hoodies (she has SO many colours & styles) for extremely reasonable prices. 

Her maternity & nursing selection is huge. Bras, covers, work tops, dresses, really lovely things. I'm tall and love that her tops cover the bum so you can wear tights and not have the bum hanging out:haha:I also got a long sleeve purple/pink top with side rouching where you csn pull the top 3/4 up over your boobs/bra-line to nurse. I found maternity shopping like wedding shopping, they know you're a niche market & tend to have more expensive prices in boutiques & shops. 

The only other mat clothes I bought are a pair of capris and a sheer sweater at H&M but the hoodies were my go-to comfort favourites! If you ladies get nursing covers, I recommend a double arc band so that it lifts off baby and you can see what you're doing. The ladies in my babies & birth class all liked the double band best.

This is my purple hoodie cowl neck/side zips for easy baby access:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/MIJA-2-in1-...hash=item2a5930824b:m:mjqMlWq0ID3RwTAfLMba5xg


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## Fern81

2have that is SO nice!! It's a bit too expensive for me if I convert back to Rands buuuttt.... my moms sews so I will ask if she can try a similar pattern for me! Thanks hun x


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## nimbec

Hi everyone thank you for your warm welcome &#128512;. I'm pleased to say I'm on my way home from hospital!! I will beat this OHSS!! I'm still full of fluid but not as bad just hoping I don't need another drain. I can't remember who asked &#128563; Can I blame it on the pregnancy hormones yet?! But I wasn't high risk at all and had late on set severe ohss which only effects 1% of people ...fun times! I'm waiting for the result of today's beta ...fingers crossed my little bean is a fighter too. 

Fern I'm super bloated too and of course ovaries swelled..think I'm going to have to order a pair of maternity trousers &#128580; ...the superstitious part of me tho won't let me! 

Praying how are you feeling? I had terrible sickness with my first and was hospitalised for a few days - it's very common and id recommend it as they give you super anti sickness to take home and I felt like a new woman. Hope you are ok. 

Hello to everyone else, hope you and bumps are all doing well!


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## rebecca822

I'm so not ready to take out my maternity box. I have some basics in there and im sure some things are already out of style. I'll probably switch to maternity bottoms soon and then try to get away with larger tops for a while. 
Haven't gotten dressed yet today but I'm curious how my belly looks in my regular clothes today.


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## Myshelsong

I dont think my body has really changed at all yet. I am trying not to be worried, hahaha. We have our 12 week scan on tuesday and hoping all is well. I am terrified of a missed miscarriage - which i am sure we all are - but the lack of pregnancy symptoms, or anything really since reducing the progesterone this week has got me frazzled lol.

Had a good day in Toronto yesterday, got to hang out with two of my best couple friends. One in the afternoon and then one in the late evening. it was wonderful walking around and exploring the city. My bff Kim had tickets to the Guns & roses concert so they were super pumped all afternoon. Also got my first baby present from them, she got me some onesies - super cute. I told her not too when I told her, but she is crazy excited.


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## Fern81

Nimbec- yay that you have finally been discharged! And so happy to see that great beta # in your signature ;). Do you have to take some more sick leave now? Can't imagine that you can go back to work tomorrow. Is someone filling in for you?

Myshel- lol I think my tummy is enormous because a) the swollen ovary (possibly still swollen because I can still feel the thing paining!) b) I have issues with carbs, stomach fat and bloating so whenever I start eating any carbs and gaining weight it always goes to my tummy first!! (And have now gained about 3 kg so far sheesh). I'm also so scared of a mmc... especially with the round tummy that everyone is asking me about. I don't want to have to explain it to a stranger. The rest of my body hasn't changed and I've also had a sharp decrease in any type of symptoms since stopping my progesterone. And so did hundreds of other ladies on the google-webs. :) So that must mean we are normal hun. Xx

Rebecca -so how did the belly look today? How are ALL the twin mommas doing belly wise? :) my sister exploded with her twins but she ate very unhealthily and didn't exercise at all poor thing... I understand why though, she had a horrible time of it mentally & at work etc. 

I spent 7 hours painting my office's bathroom today geez! Thought it would be a quick job. Ha. And from all the hunching and squatting my loose joints are killing me especially my hips. Not recommend ladies!

Did you have a lovely camping trip rq?

Hope you all have a good week. More scans coming up!


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## rebecca822

Fern- belly was a little flatter today. I think I just looked fat today and not really pregnant.
In having a scan tomorrow morning. It's a bonus scan, I'm not really scheduled for 1 until Friday but I asked them to squeeze me in so I can see my babies :)

Today we went to the zoo, lots of walking and it was really hot. I'm exhausted and my stomach feels crampy.


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## froggyfrog

Glad your getting to go home nimbec!!! And that's exciting about your beta!! Congrats!

I'm really glad that everyone here is doing so well and I hope you all had a great weekend! 

Second tri is 3 days away! Im counting down! I had gotten such a bad migraine on Thursday night and Friday that I needed my Dr to call me something in. I checked my blood pressure at home with our machine and all was well. The medicine helped a lot and I haven't had a migraine again since friday. I'm experiencing round ligament pain, and it's AWFUL! Sharp stabs and cramps, terrible! I had such an easy 1st tri, and right at the end I start suffering!


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## Rq120

I had a lovely weekend camping and boating but boy am I exhausted. Too much sun and sleeping in a tent will do that to you. My sheets are in the dryer and hubby is running me a bath right now. As soon as the sheets are done I'm going to crawl from a bath to a nice clean bed and sleep.


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## rebecca822

Froggy sorry you're not feeling great. Hopefully it'll all pass soon.
Wow I Rq sounds adventurous. Enjoy your bath and I'm sure you'll have no trouble falling asleep.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca we too fid alot of walking and I was crampy & bleeding when I got home! It's stopped now but oh I hate seeing that:nope:

Rq camping sounds like fun but tiring! Glad to hear you had a good time. 

Fern & myshelsong, I def have a belly on me now. I know I'll feel better once I get back to the gym but with this bleeding on & off will that ever happen?

Nimbac nice beta score! Glad to hear you're out if the hospital. I hope you're gradually on the mend. 

Froggy, that migrane sounds horrific. I'm glad they took care of you & you're feeling better now!

Praying how are you feeling? 

Afm, we did a lovely lunch & walk with my sister today. Tomorrow I have to go for the standard NT & 1st tri bloods, and Wednesday is my scan. Feeling tired DD is teething right now & doesn't want to sleep.


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## rebecca822

2have- damn cramps and bleeding. I'm sure your babies are ok.

Just had my scan and my boys look great. They were very active and didn't stop moving.


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## 2have4kids

Ohh Monday, I started drinking lots of water for my bloodwork and heartburn! Will go take a probiotic, my digestion must be sucking it right now with all these hormones. 

DD had a great sleep last night. I was on night duty and beyond her dream feed at 2am she didn't wake up. I feel better than I have in a while.


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## beemeck

hi ladies! glad to hear that most everyone is doing well. praying - I hope you are feeling better! 2 have - good luck today! 

I'm still feeling great for the most part. I think I'm dealing with some constipation. As a vegan for 8 years and vegetarian for 15, I'm not sure I've ever been constipated before, but the webmd definition sounds about right :haha: I was just able to go after my lunch and am feeling better. I can't get used to this appetite. I've never been a big eater. Don't get me wrong, I love food but I fill up quickly. man, now I can't stop eating! and I can feel how my metabolism has slowed - it's so obvious. so yeah, I'm def sporting a bump. whether it's just bloat or not, it's totally obvious. and it's even kind of cute (if no one knows I'm only 9 weeks :haha:). 

really looking forward to my prenatal yoga class tomorrow and I'll try to remember to ask about good yoga vids!


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## Prayingforno1

Sounds like everyone had a good weekend. Congrats froggy entering 2nd trimester-that's awesome time is flying by. 

This weekend I was able to stay home and do pretty much nothing which was AWESOME!! The nausea is getting a bit better so I didn't end up going to the doctor. Based on some reading I did it should really decrease this week (keeping my fingers crossed). My next scan is next Friday-29th and I can't wait to see our little bean!! I am still able to wear some of my regular clothes but because my "girls" are getting bigger by the second alot of my work tops which are button up are no longer fitting as the top buttons are crying for mercy lol. There was a sale and I was able to get a few maternity tops so when my regular tops won't work anymore at least I'll have something to wear to work which is my biggest headache, I'll probably think of getting 2 or 3 work pants when my bump is really a bump. Have a great week ladies-can't wait to read more updates from your scans/doctor visits this week.


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## Fern81

Rq- sounds so lovely, enjoy all the camping and boating while you can! 

2have - ugh shame I hope the bleeding stops for good now. I can just imagine that it's so scary :/ fx for your bloodwork; do you know when you will be getting your results?

Froggy- ouchie! I've had round ligament pain since 5 weeks, not that bad though just sometimes when I sneeze or cough. It comes and goes. Hope yours doesn't become chronic. At the same time, grow uterus grow lol!

Beemeck- wow 9 weeks already!? So glad that you are feeling confident in your pregnancy. Lol just rock the bump ;) it will fill up with mostly baby soon enough! Tomorrow - if you don't mind asking about legit preggie pilates videos too I'll be very grateful :). X

Praying- nice that you're feeling better. Lol "crying for mercy"!! Send some my way. ;)

Nimbec- hope you are resting a lot.

Rebecca - each time anyone on here reports a nice scan it makes me so happy & also hopeful for mine!

Crazydoglady- hope you are doing well. 

Afm- started working full time again today, school holidays are over. Seriously can't wait for summer & being on maternity leave; I'm struggling to focus on my learners and it's a bit unfair to them but I'm doing my best for someone ltttc distracted by finally being pregnant lol. 7 sleeps until my scan, can't come soon enough.


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## elliecain

Hi girls. I'm so excited to join you over here! I have only read a few pages so far, but congratulations to all of us!

My EDD is 21st March 2017 and I have my first u/s booked in for 29th July.

*My story...*
We started trying properly in January 2015 (when I was 37) and we had a heartbreaking cp in August/September then nothing at all. After the usual testing, the only thing they picked up was a slightly underactive thyroid (TSH 3.5) and I started taking thyroxine. This did the job, but still nothing.

After a very short cycle in January 2016, I finally went to see a private specialist, Mr Akande. He found I had polycystic ovaries, the egg reserve of someone in her 20s and my AMH was 78.9. It now seemed even odder that I was not conceiving. He prescribed clomid. I got a polyp in the second cycle and had to have a hysteroscopic polypectomy in March. Mr Akande biopsied my lining and found chronic endometritis and elevated Natural Killer Cells. I was given doxycycline for the former and warned I might need steroids for the latter.

Fast forward a few months and I was turned down for NHS funding for IVF because I had had a chemical pregnancy. My parents offered to pay and I started IVF with Mr Akande. A second SA revealed that DH has 73% antisperm antibodies so we needed ICSI. We ended up transferring 2 Day 2 B grade embies, one 4 cell and one 5 cell. After delaying testing until 17dp2dt, I finally got a very strong :bfp: on 17th July.

I have a few symptoms: heartburn, hot and sweaty all the time, high libido, insomnia and extremely sore boobs (I'm on cyclogest though). I'm taking 20mg prednisolone (for the NKC) and 2 cyclogest pessaries per day until 12w. 

We've told quite a few people, because we were open about the fact that we were doing IVF. I've managed not to tell too many colleagues, as I'm a teacher about to break for the summer. We go back to school when I'll be 11+6, so they can find out that week. My tutor group will go nuts when I tell them... I can't wait!


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## Fern81

Hi ellie, very welcome to you hun! It's soooo great to have you here and I'm looking forward to share in your amazing journey. When you have an edd, just let me know and I will add it to your name (which is going on the front page right now :) ).


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## Fern81

Lol sorry just noticed you edd!!


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## Prayingforno1

Welcome elliecain. Your fertility struggle is similar to many of us here and you will get awesome support with this group of ladies. A few of the ladies have twins on board maybe you will be joining them:)


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## 2have4kids

H ellie & welcome!

Fern only 6 more sleeps! I think I'll feel very similar at work. How does a person drum up creative energy when there's 2 baking and 1 at home and I've been off for a year and feel out of the loop. Hopefully they haven't upgraded software too lol please let the time pass quickly!

Beemack my mom is vegan, she's allergic to dairy, I'm allergic to eggs and wheat makes my skin crawl with ants. I do eat protein but mostly veg so I sm shocked to hear you're struggling with constipation! The only thing I can think if is to go easy on the rice and check your prenatal iron. 90% have really hard to digest iron and if ypu consume any dairy at all 2 hours before or after it'll bind to the iron leaving you constipated. Spatone, and Floridex are liquid iron and when taken with OJ is sooo easily digested. I looked at what was in my Previt prenatal and take all the components seperately, in better quality vitamins. B vits are prob the most important as they prevent ms and current studies are looking at deficiencies and autism links. Nothing conclusive especially because autism has such a broad range but very important anyway.

Praying, I'm glad to hear you were feeling better this weekend!

Crazycatlady how are you?

Today we're doing the photo shoot for our baby announcement. Can't wait to tell the world! Roll on Wednesday for the scan.


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## rebecca822

Eli- welcome so glad you were able to join!
Fern- you're almost there, I know the anxious waiting feeling. Ughh.
2have- yay Wednesday, can't wait to see your announcements.
Praying- glad you're feeling a bit better. 
Beemeck- I've also been dealing with some constipation. I've taken collace a few times when it got really bad.


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## froggyfrog

A tip for the constipated gals, glycerin suppositories are my new best friend. I have had a few times I got so backed up and it just wouldn't come out, so I used a glycerin suppository and 15 minutes later I got relief! They sell them at walgreens.


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## froggyfrog

Welcome ellie!! Glad to see you here!


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## beemeck

thanks for the info ladies. I'm sure it's not severe constipation as I'm hardly even in any discomfort, it's just different for me. I know iron and the slower metabolism are the culprits, so I'll have to look into some remedies if it doesn't clear up. I'm just a super regular and super soft kinda gal normally, so the change is something I notice. my stomach is feeling so much better since going yesterday. 

2have - how did you appt go?

ellie - welcome love ! perhaps you will have more than one on board too :) I'm still the only IUI gal though I did invite an IUI friend to join us who got her bfp a few days ago :haha:

so excited for announcements and scans coming up!! I just realized that even if I don't get a scan at my 10 week appt, I can still get a doppler reading. and hearing that baby still has a heartbeat is all I really care about, so I'm looking forward to that - 8 more sleeps!


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## 2have4kids

I had the bloods for Trisomy/Downs monday but the scan is Aug 4 for that. Combined, we'll know the results after that 12 week appointment. I'm sure it'll be fine, we had donor embryos from a 22/28 female/male. If I were using OE ivf I'd have done a user-pay Harmony test @ 10 weeks to ensure babies are ok.


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## Myshelsong

Congrats Eli and welcome!

Hope all is well, I will write a detailed hi to everyone in a big it is hubbys bday and just wanted to pop in.
Had our ultrasound today and I hate the lady who did it so much. She literally said nothing to me for over fifteen minutes (it was an IPT scan) after pressing super hard on me for so long, I was like ... So is there a baby in there? Because I was having a panic attack. She finally went, -yes it just isn't cooperating, I need it to move to a different position but it won't. I'm like well I can stand and move around a bit, ect, she said no.
At the end she was like - well I am giving up. They may or may not make you do this again because I don't think I got all the measurements. 
I asked if hubs can come in because he was waiting, and she said no. I already went over my time, but I can give you a DVD. So I took the DVD and it is the worst. Lol like I get that I have a tummy so it is harder to see, but it is horrible! I honestly wish she would have just done an internal for the measurements.


Ok rant over, got to get ready for dinner.


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## elliecain

Thanks for the welcomes!

Myshel, I'd have been fuming about that. It sounds like she was rude and incompetent. I hope you do have another scan but with someone else!

I got 3+ on a digi today, exactly 3 weeks after retrieval. It feels surreal that this is going as it should. I feel happy and confident and excited. I requested bHCG test today while my TSH monitoring was being done (also at my request... I learnt early on to get educated about all this and to become my own advocate). According to the Clearblue website, my hcg must be over 2,753 to register 3+. Last time (chemical pregnancy) my 15dpo bHCG was 49 and the digi never made it past 1-2. Wow, this is real!

https://i64.tinypic.com/oh8ta0.jpg


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## 2have4kids

Myshell that scan was your NT all important scan right? If she dudn't get them done right I hope they call you back in. Sorry you had such a rough scan. Our first was tear jerking, we saw everything on the tv, this is how it should be for all new parents. 

Ellie, gongrats on the tests & rising beta scores. So I see you put back 2, will you be hoping for twins?

Hi to everyone, hope you're all having a fabulous day!

I have great respect for photographers. That garden tea party photoshoot was hard work! Thankfully I can polish the images off with Photoshop, will get it all ready to send out after the scan tomorrow. :bunny::dance:


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## rebecca822

Myshel- that's horrible I would call the doctor and tell them you're not paying for that scan!!!


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## froggyfrog

Yay for a 3+ ellie!!

Myshel I would be so upset. I hope they can bring you back in soon, and I wouldn't let them charge me if I were you! 

2have, glad your pictures came out! Hope we get to see your announcement! 

Afm, I *think* I felt the baby tonight. It felt like someone was flicking the inside of my uterus. I Googled "feels like some is flicking inside of my uterus 13 weeks" and it popped right up as a description some have felt between 12 and 16 weeks. I'm hoping I feel more soon!


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## elliecain

Oh Froggyfrog, that is so exciting! I bet you are holding your breath, waiting for it again now. Let us know how that flicking feeling develops xx


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## rebecca822

Froggy, I remember it felt like a little flutter. I only felt it at 17 weeks with my DD. Super exciting that you feel your little boy kicking in there :)

Afm- I'm having trouble falling back asleep. Woke up to pee and get a drink and I can't seem to fall asleep. I have a no phone policy in middle of the night but it's been a while already with no sleep in sight.


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## Fern81

Shame Rebecca I hope you got back to sleep :) when you posted it was 11am here already and I had been teaching for 3 hours, crazy!

Froggy- huge congrats on second trimester and feeling baby move!! That must feel so awesome! X

Ellie- yep it still feels unreal to me too :) but that 3+ is so welcome; happy for you. Definitely not a chemical. I'm also curious, are you perhaps hoping that it is twins? 

Myshel- what a rude and useless nurse! That is SUCH bad patient care. Making you stress and almost have a panic attack just because she is incompetent? Hope you get to go in FOR FREE just to see your baby again. X

2have - oh ok I guess I will also get my results at the 12 week scan, 5 more sleeps ;). If you feel comfortable with personal pics on here, please share your announcement it sounds lovely. 

Bee- glad to hear the constipation is gone ;) I can imagine it's not pleasant! 

Afm- working really long hours atm (07:00-19:30 some days) and I'm not getting around to doing all the cooking & laundry & cleaning around the house... must admit I'm feeling very overwhelmed and am looking into getting a cleaning lady. School terms are always hard and tiring for me because of the long hours, but I'm really exhausted atm, phew. Only 3,5 more months though before the glorious summer holidays!


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## beemeck

sorry you were having insomnia Rebecca :( I've been having it during this pregnancy too, but never in the middle of the night. I normally have trouble falling asleep or waking up an hour too early. I hope you were able to get back to bed. I'm now peeing 4 times a night every night, I hope I'm always able to keep getting back to sleep after it because it's just ridiculous now! 

myshel - that is HORRIBLE about your US tech. Wow, I thought mine was bad. She is just a miserable person and I feel like she loves staying quiet as long as possible. I think they should all say from the start - baby has a heartbeat, now I'm just trying to _______(fill in the blank). It's so unfair. and it's the US tech at my RE so she knows what us women go through. it just doesn't make sense. I'm so sorry that happened to you but YAY for baby doing great!! :hugs:

So I asked my yoga teacher about videos last night. surprisingly, she said she didn't know any :wacko: so I guess just looking some stuff up would be helpful - I'm sure there are just a ton out there. maybe you can all find something that is tweaked a little for you. Fern, I didn't even ask about the pilates since she didn't have a yoga recommendation :dohh: I'm feeling great again like I was last week. Though I have been mainly symptom-free this whole pregnancy, I feel like what few symptoms I have dissipate with the yoga. and more importantly, my stress and anxiety level go way down. somehow being around very pregnant people makes me feel better, like I'm one of them and that will be me soon. I still haven't let myself accept the idea that this will result in a child. but I am getting closer every day! 

froggy - so exciting about the movements!! I was just reading a thread where women who were 11 weeks were all thinking they were feeling something. I think maybe since we are really looking for it, we will notice it early! I cannot wait for that!!!


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## rebecca822

Fern I have cleaning help twice a week for 4 hours each time. With working 8 hours a day and caring for my daughter it doesn't leave much time for washing floors and cleaning bathrooms. I do the laundry myself since I'm particular about how it's done.
I'm always so exhausted at the end of the day so it's nice to know that twice a week my house gets sanitized. 

Bee- I have no trouble falling asleep. In fact I fell asleep at 9 in middle of watching tv. I was fully clothed :)
Then I woke up at 1 and changed and went back to bed. At around 3 I woke up to pee and was up for almost two hours. Ughh hate the insomnia.


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## Prayingforno1

Congrats on feeling your little boy Froogy-that is so amazing. Hopefully he won't make you wait too long to feel him again :)

Myshel-what an awful experience. I hope you do not have the same tech again.


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## elliecain

I think I would rather just one, but we would be very happy with twins too. It would be financially difficult, but we'd find a way.

I got my bHCG result today and it was 3186 on 21dpo! I think that's quite high, but not out of the normal range for one.


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## nimbec

Hi ladies

Bee & Rebecca I'm so sorry you are struggling sleeping, no sleep is one of the worst things to cope with its exhausting. 

Fern I also work very long hours and have a cleaner once per week or fortnight depending on what needs doing I love it as you know the floors etc are getting done properly. 

Froggy eek about the movements how exciting!!!! 

Myshel what a horrid lady, disgusting how dare she!!! I would definitely ask for another appt and maybe complain about her - it is meant to be a lovely time scanning not what you experienced. 

As for me I'm still rough saw consultant again yesterday though and the fluid is much less, ovaries are like pineapples still and I literally look 6 months pregnant! I'm shattered which I think is a combination of normal first tri and this ohss. I had a scan tho and saw the sac and pole etc no heart beat yet but she said this was fine for 5.5 weeks and I'm going back a week tomorrow for another scan :) fingers crossed! On that note she said different dates to the online calculators...ie she said I was about 5.5 weeks when I had calculated 6 weeks online - hmm odd I wonder if she was trying to reassure me as she had not seen a heartbeat. How did you get your due dates ladies? And work out how many weeks you are? I've read different things mostly you are 2 weeks at egg collection which would make me 6 weeks today - still further along than she said? I'm also meant to eat 90grams of protein per day and am getting sick of chicken and eggs...and ideas for nice high protein diets? 

Hope everyone else is ok too.


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## nimbec

Ellie sorry I missed you!! Yay for the 3plus! Exciting and very high numbers - mine was only 2070 a few days ago so very promising for you ....I wonder like Fern could it be two?! When do you get your beta results back? So excited for you.


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## Fern81

Nimbec- I calculated using the "myivfjourney" website (i think that's what it's called). It uses date of egg retrieval in the same way other calculators use date of ovulation. My date was spot on with both the ivf and the other calculators- just don't use a last menstrual period calculator. When was your egg retrieval? Are you back at work? Hope you heal up 100% soon.

Bee- thanks for trying! I've actually been able to get so many nice workouts online prior to pregnancy, I'm sure there are some preggy pilates workouts out there.... if I find it I will share. I agree with feeling better after a nice workout. I feel a lot better after a 45 min brisk walk. Now that I don't have time for it, I think I'm having walk withdrawal! 

Ellie- great beta :)


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, just popping in to say the scan went perfectly. Healthy twins on the way so I need to set up my back to work plan with HR today. Will post again later & read you're updates. Here's our announcement that went out today. I'll erase it tomorrow for privacy:


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## 2have4kids

And this one:


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## froggyfrog

Oh my goodness 2have!!! Those are adorable!!! Love them!! 

Nimbec I used www.yourduedate.com and it matched exactly with the due date my RE gave me. 

Bee and Rebecca I also struggle with insomnia. It's the worst.


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## rebecca822

2have- this is by far the cutest!!!!
What have your responses been so far? I'm sure everyone has been over the moon.
I keep imaging calling people after the babies are born and waiting to see everyone's reactions. 
My family is going to freak out.
DH and I decided that unless I'm on bed rest we will not tell anyone about the twins, it will be a great big secret :)


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## elliecain

I'm another one with insomnia. The past 3 nights, I have been waking up really early (3/4am) and can't get back to sleep. I'm noticing my boobs are extremely sore, almost like that's what woke me up.

I was just thinking that I'll be nearly 28w at Christmas. I'll have a huge bump by then! I'm so excited because I'll buy DH a present from the baby this year. 

I still don't quite believe it. I've not POAS today, but keep looking at the ones I've already done, just to check!


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## Fern81

2have - those just put the biggest smile on my face. Love it!!!!

Rebecca - lol you should become a spy, you're suuuuper good at secrets if you can keep the twins a secret hehe!


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## froggyfrog

My 13 week bump pic!


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## elliecain

Love it Froggyfrog!


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## Prayingforno1

2have-that announcement is so cute. I love it and I'm sure your family and friends will as well.

Froggy-I am loving the bump-so cute!!


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## 2have4kids

Oh Froggy loving that bump!! 

Rebecca I couldn't possibly imagine keeping that secret, it's hard enough being team yellow but at least I don't have full 'ownership' over that information lol. 

Sorry to hear about the insomnia ladies, after my trip to Europe to get knocked up (haha I love saying it like that) I've been waking at 4 and 5 am and it's hard to get back to sleep. But somehow even if I'm in bed late from baby it's not made me into a zombie. Maybe the excitement & adrenaline from being pregnant with twins hasn't quite left my system.

Rebecca, we had soooo many lovely heartfelt responses pour in almost as soon as we posted. I'm still getting texts and messenger IM's and the best part is everyone knows how badly we wanted kids, lots and lots of kids. This has made everything seem very real. They've seen our DD start her life out with trips to the mountains and walks almost everyday, these two monkeys are in for the same sort of awesome outdoor adventures too! Camping & board games just wouldn't be the same without a gaggle of sprogs.


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## elliecain

You are exactly my kind of person 2have! I was brought up on a farm and love the outdoors and camping and everything nature. DH and I will take our little one(s) out for walks, camps and bonfires too. I also love board games and would always choose scrabble, distraction or monopoly over an Xbox or PS4!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm not sure I can control myself. DH didn't want to know the babies gender and literally the second I got home I told him that he needs to come up with a second boys name. (We had already 1 picked out)
I hope I can keep this to myself!!

Froggy I love your bump!! Can't wait to get a real bump I'm going to be so proud of it!

Eli- I'll almost be due Christmas time it seems soooo far away!

2have- sounds like your kids are really going to have an awesome time. We are not as fun as you :)


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## froggyfrog

I'll be pretty close too at Christmas. We certainly won't be traveling for the holiday this year! I'll be 34 week! 

So Rebecca are you for sure team blue? Or was that a guess? Boy names are hard! So you guys already have one boy name chosen? I think you shared it at one point, but my brain function has decreased these days!


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## nimbec

2have what an amazing way to announce so adorable!!! I love the outdoors too I'm a country horsey gal! 

Rebecca whoa that's a big secret to keep I so hope you can manage it :) 

Froggy I love your bump pic lovely shape! 

Thank you for all the advice re dates basically I think she was putting me back a few days to not alarm me about not seeing hb as everything points to me being 6 weeks today. Hopefully I will see one a week tomorrow and my lil bean is just taking his/her time seeing as we've both had such a traumatic few weeks. I so so so hope all is ok I'm very nervous about it!! I even bought some CB Digis today to see if I get a 3 plus because I absolutely should do by now... Fx for the morning...that is if I can wait that long!


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## Rq120

2have - beautiful announcements!

Froggy - cute bump! I just look chunky, no bump. 

Hubby and I went to the county fair tonight. My old hospital was a sponsor and had a pavilion so I was able to see some familiar faces and get some hugs. A fun thing though was went we went to the pro life booth they had little model babies at 12, 20, 26, and 30 weeks. I'm almost 12 weeks and it was so neat to see the little model. I took a pic with 2 of them. Hope you enjoy it. :)
 



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## rebecca822

Froggy- we are pretty sure they are boys. I got to see both little weenies :)
We had already picked out Joseph and now we just decided on Alexander. So it'll be joe and Alex :)

We told our parents tonight, couldn't keep it to ourselves anymore. They don't know it's twins but they know I'm pregnant. For now just parents know, we'll tell more people later on.


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## Myshelsong

Hey ladies, wow it has been a busy few days on here!

2have - Love the pictures. Super cute, how exciting. As a photographer that is one intense set up lol! Did you do it of them?

Froggy - cute bump pic! 

Sounds like we are getting a bunch of boys in here! I wonder if we will have an even split ....?

Hope everyone is sleeping a good sleep! I got up super early this morning for me anyways and couldn't get back to bed. Hope I get s nap later lol.
Busy last few days here, getting the house ready for a big party on the weekend for hubs bday. We are throwing a backyard party, but it is going to be sooooo hot!!! 34 degrees and with humidity over 40! Omg we are going to die. Hottest freaking month on record so far I think in the area, I wish we had a pool. Thankfully our home is air conditioned so if it is too much we can have some people inside. Outside we are doing a fair bit of water things so hoping that will cool people off. I still need to find a kiddy pool for all the kids.


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## Prayingforno1

Hello everyone!

Rq-those model babies are so cute. It's amazing how small they start out and in no time they'll be big enough for us to hold and cuddle :)

Rebecca-It must feel so good to have at least someone who knows your pregnant now. Were your parents surprised? 

Myshelsong-Backyard party sounds fun (apart from the heat :)) I am sure everyone will enjoy themselves. DH wants to do a bbq for his birthday in 2 weeks but since we just moved we still have so much more work to do getting things organized and furniture to buy I am not sure I want to many people over right now. I guess we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Enjoy your party and try to take it easy in all the heat.

AFM-I am feeling ok so far for the day. Still really tired alot. I am really busy at work and have been working late this whole week. I can't wait for the weekend so I can rest, although it seems DH has my full Saturday planned running errands :(


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## rebecca822

Praying so glad you're feeling better. My mom was not too surprised she said she sort of thought I was but she said she would never say anything to me until I told her. She's really respectful of our privacy.
Hubby told his mom over the phone on FaceTime and I think it's the first time he ever saw her excited :) I wish I was there to see it.
His dad was pretty clueless and just said congratulations. 
It feels great knowing that they know :)


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## nimbec

Rebecca lovely news, my dad was like that too - I think it's a dad 'thing' 

Praying I'm so pleased to hear you are feeling better, you must be relieved it's awful feeling sick all the time. 

Myshel gosh that's hot! I don't envy you although wish we could have a bit of nice weather over here! 

Rq those models are super cute! 

As for me I started the day panicking about my hcg levels as my CB digi only came up 2-3 weeks and I knew my levels should have been more &#128580; Talk about stress and worry - luckily I had the results of my beta from yesterday and it had risen as it should have - phew!! Weird about the digi but I'm going with the blood. I'm now 4271 which seems to be an OK number for this many weeks :) I'm having a scan next Thursday and praying I see a hb...maybe then I may believe things are going to be ok...


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## Fern81

Nimbec - I really believe your embie just took a longer time to implant and to start developing, maybe due to the ohss. And now after a delayed start, things are a bit behind but progressing perfectly. I believe it's just one of those unexplained miracles. X and am praying for your scan!

Praying - so glad your ms has let up. It sucks to work so hard :( imagine we were all millionaires and could just sleep in on our luxury extra large king++ sized beds while our staff quietly did all the cleaning and a chef was preparing a super nutritious and yummy brunch.... oh bliss... 
Anyway! Hope you can get some rest this weekend. :)

Rebecca - nice that you shared the news with them :). Love your boy names! We're struggling to find nice names, most of the nice names are English and some don't sound completely right in our language and when joined to our surname! But we have some nice girl names.

Rq- thanks for sharing the pics of those babies. Such a perfectly formed mini human!

Myshel- hope you have a lovely party this weekend! We're getting a hectic cold front again just as it started to get slightly warmer; wish both our weather could just be mellow! Looking forward to summer & our pool; I'll probably be complaining about the heat in a few weeks lol.


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## elliecain

Hey girls! Someone just gave me a link to a Zita West video about trying not to let IVF success joy turn to anxiety. It's quite good and I've subscribed to her channel now too.
https://youtu.be/LsZByh9PcZ8

Nimbec, your beta is excellent and digis are unpredictable. If your urine was diluted, it might show as a lower weeks indicator. Go with the beta :) How are you feeling now? Has the swelling gone?

I just spoke to a GP I've not met before because was on maternity leave. She's lovely! She told me her first baby was through IVF so she totally gets my anxieties and joy. So reassuring, because I'll be discharged from my clinic softer the s an next Friday and I won't have my maxing nurse Carrie to go to any more.


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## Myshelsong

Try and relax Nimbec, stop with the digitalis they are the worst! Just try and get through until the ultrasound. Trust me I know easier said then done.

Rebecca, glad you told them. That is so exciting!

Praying I hope the exhaustion lets up soon Hun.

I am super procrastinating cleaning the house. Omg I just want to watch scandal all day long on Netflix ....


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## nimbec

Thanks ladies yes I have banned myself from anymore tests lol! They are not good for my sanity! I'm still off work very swollen and sore, my blood results are still out of kilter hence why I'm feeling so rough BUT so pleased with my beta and I'm getting better - apparently it could take Upto 14 weeks of pregnancy before I feel right again. 

Oh Fern my edd is 15th March but I'm guessing it may change. 

Myshel I know that feeling!

Hope everyone is ok - when are people's next scans? We must have some coming up?


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, how is everyone today?

Froggy I have to agree with you, boys names are hard. Since we're team yellow we'll need to have 2 boys, 2 girls, and 1 of each ready:wacko:

Nimbec roll on Thursday, I'm sure you'll see a strong heartbeat!

RQ a wee bit odd to find a pro-life group at a county fair? Cute models.

Rebecca parents reactions can be funny. My mom was so defensive at first. She told us she wasn't going to babysit, and then she told me that our GP asked her if she's going to get a few toys for her house she declared that she wasn't going to have time for any of that. Why tell me something that negative? My doctor said she's got a huge chip on her shoulder but when baby comes she'll soften & fall in love. That's exactly what happened. But I confronted her about her behaviour - I asked her why she's being so negative she apologised. I said I don't care what she tells other people but I don't want to hear it and when she's around DH and I to keep it positive or don't say anything at all. There was only 1 more incident when my aunt asjed if she was going yo sew or knit for baby abd she said no way she's got a life (ahem, she's retired and enjoying loads of free time). Now she has me running to get her toys, playpens, babygates, and asking when she can spend time with DD next.:dohh:

Myshelsong, you are a photographer? I have complete respect for all the work that goes into set up, getting that perfect shot, lighting, angles, getting a hot baby to smile while looking into the sun. Oh man, you have a tough job! I got all the props ready well beforehand and knew we were going to set up either in mom's or the neighbour's back garden. The neigbours had a children's toy horse and more blooms so that sealed the deal. They were thrilled to be asked to use their garden, all of their hard work complimented. The tough part was getting MacKinley to not grab the balloons behind her, she was so distracted. And then she saw the cupcakes lol which she can't have (sugar). In the end, there was 1 perfect shot of her smiling and the garden angle was perfect and 1 very clear shot of the table. So I transposed the table onto the other shot. Thank goodness for Photoshop!
Stay cool! Drink loads of water & coconut water (water washes potassium out of your system leaving you with potential for bloating & restless legs when it's super hot). Take care!

Praying, Beemack. Fern, Ellie, evwryone else that I've missed roll on the weekend and I hope you're all doing well. 

I'm at home for the next 3 days alone with baby. Grandma, aunt, and DH are all out of town. I took her on a coffee date this morning with my work team, they all commented on how well behaved she was. They chalked it up to her being the Chinese sign of a lamb and said the twins coming next year, the year of the lion will have payback :muaha:


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## Prayingforno1

nimbec-I've read where people go totally nuts with those digis waiting for the number of weeks to change without any success. If you can I would say step away from the tests lol

Fern-Sigh yes if only I could lay i bed all day with staff at my beck and call, cleaning up, washing dishes etc that would be awesome!

Myshelsong-I procrastinate every weekend when I am off from work-hence why very little has been done by me since our move (Thank God for DH)

My next scan and testing is next Friday-29th at 9am and I can't wait!!


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## 2have4kids

I have to agree with praying about the tests, the thing is your urine will be more concentrated one day over another and if you're close to a threshold of 2-3 or 3-4 and you have a test done with less concentrated urine it'll be inaccurate & stres you out. Never mind cost you a small fortune in tests. I tested the week after transfer and then went by betas. Take lots of folate, drink lots of water, walk, read, whatever you need to do to ease the stress. xx


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## rebecca822

2have- my mom sounds like the opposite of yours. She hasn't stopped buying baby toys for my daughter since the minute she was born. She keeps a toy kitchen in her living room for when we come visit. She is thrilled behind worlds but I made her promise that she's not buying a single thing until the babies are born (well she doesn't know about both :) )
I'm very superstitious and I don't buy anything until after the birth. I won't even have a baby shower. 

Lots of scans coming up next week, yay!!

My farewell at the RE is tomorrow, I can't wait!!! 

I was up again last night from 5am-6:30 so I ordered myself a pregnancy pillow. I figured I'll give it a try.


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## Rq120

Nimbec - I've heard lots of stories where the CB digi gives those kind of results (2-3 weeks when the woman is 4-6 weeks along). I think it causes a lot of unnecessary anxiety. You can look for them on the forum if you want some reassurance.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - I like my pregnancy pillow but I'm having trouble giving up sleeping on my stomach. I figured I will use the pillow full time after I can't sleep on my stomach anymore. Also, I find it is quite warm and we are in the middle of summer so I'm not using it full time because of the heat.


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## Fern81

Nimbec- my 12 week fetal assessment scan is on monday (12w3d). This will only be my second scan and I'm not loving the wait! 

Love pillows. I always sleep with one pillow between my knees and another huge fluffy goose down pillow squished against my tummy and in between my boobs lol! Dh hates all my pillows but I can't get comfortable if I don't prop everything up. And I have to hold something... usually just the fluffy pillow but sometimes one of my cats too (especially now that it's winter, they are soooo cuddly!).


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## Fern81

Nimbec- added your edd. And Rebecca I changed your :yellow: x2 to :blue: x2. 

3 more sleeps until my scan!! I had a dream about seeing baby on the scan. He/she had very long & thick thighs like my husband lol and was making chewing/lip smacking motions (with my constant hunger and eating I complained to dh last night that I'm teaching my baby to be a glutton lol!). :) I'm definitely going to ask if dr can start guessing the sex... however both my sister and my cousin thought they were having boys and at the 20week scan found out they were girls (their babies' external genitalia just happened to be swollen due to hormonal surges at earlier scans) so if that's a trend in our family I'm going to wait for 20weeks to confirm. But it will be nice to have an educated guess in the mean time!
Do any of you have a "feeling" regarding your baby's/babies' sex?


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## elliecain

I'm so excited for your 12w scan Fern! You'll be able to see so much more detail. I've got my first scan a week today and I'm a bit nervous, but mainly excited. Will be good to find out how many.

Gender... I always picture myself with a little girl. I started seeing her face after my cp last year. DH would like a boy because he's the only son of an only son of a Victoria Cross recipient, so he feels quite a duty to pass on the family name.
I know we will both be delighted with whatever we get, but our different preferences makes me want to know the gender even more. I can't think of how horrible it round be to have any kind of gender disappointment. I'm sure we wouldn't feel that anyway, but I think it would be better to prepare. I want to have a strong connection with my baby (babies) before I meet them, and I feel like knowing their gender(s) would help with that.


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## ES89

Hi all, can't believe I'm on this thread with you!  xx


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## rebecca822

Fern- the tech told me when she looked at the weenies she said there's a chance it can be girls with swollen girl parts. I'm ok with knowing that it's not certain. 
I'm so happy my first is a girl. I had no preference and we didn't find out till she was born, but it's really fun having a girl.
DH was kind of disappointed it wasn't a boy but she's really a dads girl so I think he's ok with it by now :)
I can't wait to tell her I'm pregnant she's going to be so excited. She pretend plays all the time that she's a big sister, she's dying for a baby sibling, she's going to get the surprise of her life :) :)
Well wait to tell her till I'm much further along or until she notices it herself. When my friend was about 30 weeks she asked her point blank, "do you have a baby in your belly?" 

I'm up at 5:50am today. These damn birds chirping at my window woke me. Then I had to get up and pee and eat a snack...I've got just a few hours left until my scan.
Happy 11 weeks to me. And Fern, happy 12!! 4 more days for you, you'll get there!!

Welcome ES so glad you joined!!


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## Fern81

Hi and welcome ES! So happy to have you. The ladies on here are so nice, kind and supportive, I know you will feel right at home. :) I will add you to the first page. When you know your EDD I will add it too!

Rebecca- happy 11weeks! Well, just stay team blue until (IF) proven otherwise, why not! It's your twinnies, your joy, your choice to be excited about whatever you choose during these next 6 months. :) :) I'm also going to get excited if dr takes a guess on the gender, and STILL be excited if she is maybe proven wrong. Same as you and Ellie, I won't have gender disappointment (can imagine that would be hard and my heart goes out to ladies who go through it).


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## nimbec

Hi ladies, welcome ES so nice to be able to see you over here :) 

Fern I bet you can't wait, it will be here before you know it & I can't wait to see a piccy. 

Ellie I know the feeling I have a scan next Thursday and it seems so far away - doublely exciting for you as you find out if one or two....do you have a gut feeling? 

No news here in just shattered, tried to do some work today and it exhausted me &#128542;. I am going back to the office part time next week as I literally have to, my ohss has improved a lot I'm still rough and white cells raised but I think it's now a mix of genuine first tri tiredness too! I'm also wondering when ms kicks in...I had hyperemesis with my first so praying I don't get that again... So far so good but I guess it's early days lol! 

Hope everyone else is ok


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## nimbec

Ellie did you get your second beta result?


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## elliecain

Nimbec, I'm going to call them in about an hour to get it. I took the sample to the lab by hand and even spoke to a tech. I told her that it was a second bHCG to check for doubling and she said they'd do it as a priority! Everyone is so kind and nice.

I think I have just one in here, just a feeling. I'm sure I have a little girl. The more I think about it, the clearer she looks in my mind. I'm totally in love with my future child already.

I'd like some guesses on one or two before Friday, to put in my diary. What do you girls think?

My shellac nail artist, Jen, did my seahorses today. I told her last year that, if I asked for seahorses, it meant I was pregnant. She as so happy to do them for me! She has had 4 clients get pregnant this year and we reckon it's a lucky chair. I think it's also Jen, who is a calming influence and has seen me through all kinds of heartache.

Excuse the wrinkly hands...
https://i63.tinypic.com/eqz703.jpg
Each little finger has a white heart too... I am still channeling twins, despite my gut feeling.

Edit: I called. It's 9148 !!!!!!!!!!

Doubling time is 42.72 That's good, right?


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## nimbec

Wow Ellie that is a fabulous number!! Very good doubling time :) happy for you!! Love the nails too very nice. I think you have Twins on board...just a gut feeling I don't know why though. 

Ladies I have a personal question to ask....when did you resume business in the bedroom? I think I'm meant to be on a ban until 12 weeks but the pregnancy has made me seriously frisky &#128584;!


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## Rq120

Ellie - great beta numbers. Love the nails/seahorses. I'll go with your gut instinct and say one.

Nimbec - I was told to hold off until my first appt. That was at 6 weeks. Then we started up again, even though I forgot to ask MD if restrictions were lifted. We have been having sex since 6 weeks without any issues/spotting.


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## froggyfrog

I was on restriction until our second beta. She told me as long as I didn't have any spotting or bleeding, it was fine.


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## elliecain

We were told to abstain for 3 days after transfer. We waited for 15 days and then the early pregnancy hormones made me into a crazed sex fiend (not my usual style at all) and we dtd. I had some brown spotting the next day, which alarmed me, but it stopped when I upped the progesterone and put it in the back door. Not dtd since... I'm very scared of damaging my baby and just want to wait until the scan.

For modesty, I'll put the next bit in a spoiler...

Spoiler
Probably way TMI, but I did have an orgasm 4 days after transfer. I figured it would have implanted by then, so no risk of it moving to a Fallopian tube. I'd read about loads of women having sleep orgasms in 2ww and I reckoned it was probably safe by then.


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## nimbec

Thanks ladies MUCH appreciated!! I have just had a call from the NHS hospital as well where I have had my treatment for ohss and they want me to go to the early pregnancy unit Monday at 11am for a scan - I wish it wasn't so early in the week as I will be panicking if I don't see a hb! The. I have my fertility clinic scan Thursday - if I'm lucky enough to see a hb Monday I will ask if I can delay my fertility clinic one to the following week so I can have another sneaky peek!


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## Fern81

Ellie- I guess one girl :) you've convinced me. Love your nails!

We weren't put on any restrictions but sadly we almost never dtd in any case... :/ I keep planning to do something about it but yeah. I don't know why we stopped but it's been like this for a year or so.


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## Fern81

Oh great news nimbec I hope we both have great scans on monday!!


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## beemeck

good luck nimbec!!

great numbers ellie and I LOVE LOVE those nails!!! I'm going to get a pedicure after work - I can't wait. And for the official vote - I vote one baby! 

to contribute to the conversations happening....

DH and I have not BDed. I'm pretty terrified. I never asked doc about it one way or another but that's basically bc my RE annoyed the hell out of me and his response to EVERYthing was "it's fine". I'm terrified of the mysterious state of my cervix post cervical ectopic and stitches. The docs admittingly don't much about it or what to expect from it. there is no way of seeing what my inner cervix (where the stitches were) really looks like without dilating me which they've never done. so I've made the decision myself for no BD...at least until further along or further conversations with my OBs. Honestly, I'd like to go the whole pregnancy without it - I'm so scared of having incompetent cervix since many women with LEEP procedures (scarring in cervix) go on to have that. I'm also super over BDing since with IUI we were still going at it like bunnies every month for over a year to make sure we didn't miss it. I have zero interest. I did have a few orgasms in my sleep early on, and it worried me because it was super early and I knew my uterus was contracting, but obv didn't have any issues. just wanna stay as far away from my cervix as possible!!! :nope:

as for gut feelings/gender disappointment... I'm convinced beyond belief that I have a little girl. I'm also desperate for a girl, but I don't think that's why I think it is. My first pregnancy, I didn't have a feeling one way or the other. with this pregnancy, from the start I've been convinced. We are team yellow because I couldn't deal with the disappointed of finding out we were team blue. When they hand me my baby, I know I'll be thrilled regardless. I feel like an awful person to have gone through these struggles and still feel so strongly about it, but being completely honest, it's how I feel. :shrug:


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## froggyfrog

Fern, a year :(. Might be tmi, but we are extremely "active". Just waiting those few weeks was so horrible! But the first time we did it, I was extremely scared and didn't want us to get too much into it just in case.


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## 2have4kids

Nimbac you'll see a heartbeat, they saw both heaetbeats on my twins at 6weeks 0 days, can't wait yo hear your news!

Fern, roll on the big scan!! Very excited for you!

We haven't done snything but we did with my first pregnancy. Orgasms and all. If I didn't have sch we'd def be doing it. 

I've decided I'm going back to the gym this week. I hate how my body feels and time is running out before I'll be busy with work. 

I hope you're all doing well. So much excitement on here right now! 
Welcome es89 & congrats!


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## Fern81

Beemeck- really hope you get your little girl. X

Froggy- I'm jealous!! We've been dtd this past year or so around o time of course but not really more than that... beemeck's post made me think maybe it's because of all the pressure of ttc that we've both stopped enjoying it. Maybe I should just try to seduce him this weekend :).


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## 2have4kids

Oh and I have NO clue what we're having, hoping for boy/girl but happy with whatever we're given!

Anybody else get headsches from the estrogen?


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## beemeck

fern - ttc totally kills sex lives!!! somehow it never got old for my DH :dohh: but it totally took all the fun out of it for me :nope:


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## nimbec

I can relate with all you ladies we spent 3 years like rabbits trying to get pregnant and I was sick of it, but since we stopped all the forced timing sex it has been really nice. I think we are quite active too but we do have weeks that go by when we are not. I'm also frightened to do anything but not sure how long I can hold out for &#128514;. I will ask the clinic next week and try not to go bright red !! 

Beemeck you mustn't feel awful I hear lots of ladies feel the same, I even think their is a forum for it. Like you say you will be thrilled when your bundle of joy is passed to you. Do you already have a boy? 

I'm really happy either way as long as baby is healthy! I'm hoping to be able to hold my baby straight away as last time he went straight to special care and it was 2 days before I got my first cuddle :( - I've made up for it since lol!!


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## beemeck

Nope this is my first nimbec , which makes me feel even worse for it. But recently I've just been owning it because I'm not sure what else to do . 

I'm glad they moved your scan up ! And I agree, I try to spread mine out as much a possible so I can get more regular check ins. I hope your scan goes great and things continue to go your way all the way until baby is handed right to you after birth !!!


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## elliecain

I totally agree. Timed sex for 18 months takes all the fun out of it. I think it will come back, just need to feel safer with my embie first.


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## rebecca822

Hey all! Just a quick update. 
We had our farewell appointment today. We brought the doctors office donuts and coffee.
The babies look great :)

Off to my OB next week like a regular pregnant lady :)


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## 2have4kids

Congrats on your graduation rebecca!

Has anyone had headaches frim the estrogen pills? Everytime I take one I seem to get a headsche 45 minutes later. I have 2 weeks left until I can wean off everything but I'm not sure how I'll deal until then. I never get headaches!


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## Fern81

Sorry to be no help 2have, I didn't take any estrogen after bfp. All I can do is send you good thoughts! Cold/warm compresses?

Beemeck- feel free to share anything on here and get it off your chest. If you can't say it in a support forum, where can you? We are all different culturally & with our belief systems, preferences etc but I can't imagine anyone on this thread picking on someone for voicing a personal issue or concern :).

Congrats on the next step Rebecca! 

I'm literally counting the seconds until my scan; can hardly think of anything else!!


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## nimbec

Rebecca yay how exciting!! You are now also in second tri...&#128512;

2have sorry I can't help I did take it but was taken off when developed ohss, hope you get some answers. 

Fern not long now!!


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## Rq120

I've been getting a pulling sensation in my belly the past 2 days. Like my abdominal muscles feel weak.


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## Myshelsong

Oh gosh, sex lol! We had forced, timed sex for three years then stopped once we finally got to a fertility specialist and started IUIs for two years then the IVF. Sex was such a horrible emotional chore it took a bit until sex could just be fun and exciting again. Thankfully the IUIs took a lot of the stress off of us, but by then our physical relationship had really taken a toll. 
Now that we are finally pregnant hubs sex drive has come back, but I am still too nervous to have it regularly. I am hoping once we get through to the second trimester it will finally come back. But if not I know hubs will understand. We worked soooooo hard for this I am crazy nervous, feeling blessed and scared and happy and terrified at the same time is not conducive to sexy time.

RQ- I also have the pulling sensation, especially after yesterday I really overdid it. I am super sore. I think it is round ligament pain. Has yours subsided? Mine normally comes on and off for a few days really strong then magically goes away.

2have- sorry never had estrogen pills. However I am starting the second trimester headaches ... They suck full on. Trying everything to get rid of them. I can't even remember the last time I had a headache before this week....

Hope to hear some good scan details soon!

AFM we told the inlaws some friends and my aunt this weekend. It was our big backyard birthday bash for hubs and he went on a telling spree once he had a couple drinks lol. We purposely made a little card for his parents that had the ultrasound picture. His mom was so excited she started tearing up and kept saying, "I'm going to meet a grandchild!" She has been super sick recently so it was amazing she came and was able to share our news. Omg I am crying again.

Anyways going on a week vacation so will be away from the board for the week.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week bull of great scans, disappearing symptoms and little baby flutters!!


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## froggyfrog

My migraines have been extremely excruciating for the last week. I called in and got a prescription and it stopped working. Friday night was so bad,I couldn't move, I called the midwife on call and she was concerned so told me to go into the ER. I had a CT done with dye to check for blood clots and it came back normal as well as my blood work. Pain meds aren't helping. They lower the pain but don't take it away, so now I have to follow up with a neurologist.


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## elliecain

My heartburn has gone away but I've been getting some pretty sore cramps recently. I sneezed in bed last night and had a sharp pain right hand side of uterus/right ovary (I find it hard to distinguish) and it's hurt on and off all day.
It seems too early for ligament pain and it worries me that it coincides with heartburn going. I only have one digi left, that I'm saving for if I'm really worried (does it still say 3+) and I might do it before Friday's scan, as going in and finding nothing there then would be the worst.
Not going to let myself start panicking!


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## rebecca822

Myshel- wow sounds like a really nice time to share the news. 

Froggy- sorry you're having bad migraines. I've had a few bad ones this pregnancy and there's nothing that makes them go away :(

Elicain- I know exactly what you're describing. When you sneeze you get that uterus tinge. I get that all the time.


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## nimbec

Froggy I'm so sorry to hear you are feeling so poorly :( headaches Canberra so debilitating and I've never had a migraine so I can't imagine how awful you are feeling (((hugs)))

Ellie please don't worry the pain you are feeling is probably still your enlarged ovaries they take many weeks to go down from all the IVF treatment. I totally understand your worry but I'm sure all will be fine! Also hope you don't mind me saying but if you did (which a million fx you don't)have a loss at this stage your hcg is so high already it would take a while to drop so you can't rely on a digi plus their is also evidence out there that the tests can't cope with huge levels of hcg and give false results (I'm not sure at what point that starts) all I'm trying to say is try not to worry and don't rely on that digi. Your scan will be here before you know it! I too completely understand your worry I'm also very nervous about bad news &#128563;.


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## elliecain

Thanks Rebecca. I'm reassured you have felt it too!

Two very good points Nimbec, thank you. I think I need to put the digi away and just be patient and hope for Friday. I'd not thought about the enlarged ovaries. The right side was where all my biggest follies were, so that makes total sense.

This forum is so great for allaying fears. Girls who are going/have gone through it know so much better than anyone else!

PAL is nerve wracking!


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## Rq120

Froggy - your headaches sound horrible. I hope you get better soon!!


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## nimbec

Hi Ladies well I'm sat here waiting for my scan feeling very nervous, for some reason I haven't got a good feeling...I've had some cramps nothing major but just negative nelly this morning! I'll update later! 

Good luck Fern its your scan today too! 

Hope everyone else is ok.


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## nimbec

Ok great news we saw a heart beat!! &#10084;&#65039; Measuring a bit behind at 6+1 but they are not worried at all :) my ovaries on the other hand are enormous and they can't distinguish left from right hence my pain - I'm under strick instructions to rest!! Minimal fluid left in me now thankfully just my ovaries need to calm down a bit! 

So do I change my ticker?! 
Hope everyone is ok!


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## Fern81

Hi ladies my scan also went very well, everything measuring as it should and low risk for genetic abnormalities so far. Dr says it looks like a boy! Will read through all the posts and update properly a bit later- yay congrats nimbec so far!!!!


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## rebecca822

Yay nimbec and Fern so glad your babies are doing well!

Go team blue!


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog-so sorry you are having such bad headaches. I had a crippling headache a few weeks back but chalked it up to the msg in the chinese food i'd eaten. Are you able to reach out to your doctor to possibly get something a bit stronger so you can get some relief?

Congrats Nimbec & Fern on awesome scans!

I rested pretty much all weekend apart from yesterday when I decided to do some cleaning which may not have been a good idea. I got down and scrubbed our shower and a few hours later had crippling back pain which although better than yesterday I am still feeling it today. My body is reminding me I can't push to much I guess. Well I plan on telling my manager today that I am pregnant! I'll let you know how that goes but I am sure his only concern will be making sure my work will be properly covered when I go on maternity leave. One more week and I'll be in the 2nd trimester-WOW who would have thought I'd finally be here!

Have a great day ladies!


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## froggyfrog

Yay for a good scan fern and nimbec! 

Welcome to teamblue fern!!! 

Ellie, all of those aches and pains are normal. I felt them at odd times too, and still do if I stand up wrong or move the wrong way. Don't worry!!

Praying isn't it crazy how fast 2nd tri snuck up? I'm betting that 3rd tri takes its sweet time. 

Thanks for the well wishes ladies. I don't have a headache currently which is good. Praying I was taking something stronger, but it just wasn't working. So now I'm going to have to head to a neurologist. They get so bad that I can't move. I was stuck in one spot on Friday and couldn't move.


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## Fern81

Thanks ladies :)

Finally sitting down.

I started crying the moment the image came on the screen, I saw the little face immediately! Cried so hard that the ultrasound sensor bobbed up and down & picture faded in and out lol. My new dr is a bit strict and I thought she was rude to my mom (who went with me). Otherwise she seems well educated and clued up on the latest technology etc. My ovary is STILL enormously swollen. And I'm going to be team blue until proven otherwise, just like you rebecca :) it did look like lil "turtle"boy bits!! But as I said earlier my sister's daughter was a "boy" on the first 2x u/s hehe so for now it's just a fun, educated guess!

So one thing I'm worried about is that I have low papp-a levels which can point to a problem with the placenta & restricted fetal growth, possible pre-term birth, pre-eclampsia etc in the absence of increased NT translucency. Dr advised me to buy a bloodpressure monitor and measure daily, also to increase my bloodthinners. Now I'm even more sad that we can't afford to get scans done more frequently but yeah it's still ridiculously expensive.
So far the baby is measuring spot on so I'm not going to google papp-a levels and stress myself out.

Sorry so many of you are suffering with headaches :( Froggy especially you! Hope your dr can get it sorted out. 

Praying- oh those loose painful joints :) thanks relaxin! Hope you feel better soon.

Ellie- that sharp shooting pain when sneezing is totally normal, I think it's round ligament pain (after all your uterus is definitely growing already) and like nimbec said aggravated by those swollen ovaries. 

Myshel that party and the reveal sounds amazing :) congrats!


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## Prayingforno1

Oh boy froggy those headaches sound awful especially when it gets so bad you can't move! Hoping all goes well with your visit to the neurologist.

Fern-So nice your mom got to join you. Lots of team blue here. Don't google to much this can definitely stress you out unnecessarily-I know from experience :)


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## Prayingforno1

Question-so I just noticed my ticker says you are now in the 2nd trimester but doesn't the 2nd trimester start at 13 weeks?


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## Fern81

I agree 2nd tri starts at 13 weeks. (Maybe even a few days later if 40 weeks are divided into 3 trimesters... lol that's splitting hairs though!)

Pics: First one to check out the probably boy nub (the area "sticking out" at baby's rump area lol)! And then two 3/4D pics of baby moving it's arms.
 



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## Rq120

So cool Fern. Love the pics. All I have gotten is grainy ones from the RE. I go to the OB tomorrow but I'm almost certain no US since I just had one a week and 1/2 ago. 
I'm looking forward to my OB appt tomorrow. It's a new office for me and my first pregnancy so we will see how it all goes. I told hubby not to worry about taking time off to go with me. He will always make it to the US appts, but will skip the "mundane" OB appts.

Well, it's official (or at least I'm calling it official).... I'm def starting to show somewhat. I had to try on 3 shirts this am to find the right one. I texted hubby that I was able to hide my bump another day but then when we were having lunch he gave me this side long glance like "you really didn't hide it completely" lol. Basically we came to the conclusion that if you knew or suspected I was pregnant, there is no doubt. But most people oblivious and they prob haven't noticed yet. I feel like I "popped" a little this weekend and there was no doubt I could feel my uterus above the pelvic bone. I think it depends on how full my bladder is, but it was about 1/2 way to the belly button. Yay twins, lol! 

I'm still doing great with symptoms. I started taking a tablespoon of fiber everyday and that has helped some with my constipation. 

I hope everyone is feeling well!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies! How us everyone?
Fern & Nimbac beautiful scans. Sorry for the grumpy doctor Fern and the strange diagnosis, hopefully the measures you take will monitor baby and everything will be fine! Beautiful pics! Love the 4D <3
Praying did you tell your boss yet?

RQ i'm going to have to get some maternity long pants, at nearly 11 weeks I've definitely popped. Gl hiding that twin bump :haha:

Well sounds like we have quite a headache club here! Mine aren't debilitating like yours Froggy but irritating none the less. I've been taking Tylenol now and then when they're bad but in general I hate taking drugs. Maybe working out will help?

Nimbac hows the R&R going?

Myshelsong that was a lovely announcement, I could just picture it! Have a relaxing week off. 

Beemack, ES, Crazycatlady, Ellie, & Rebecca how are you ladies doing?

I found it was so hard to lift DD and car seat constantly in Oct/Nov/Dec even after I stayed in shape during that pregnancy hitting the gym till 8 months I'm scared about things will go now that I've stopped cardio & weights over the past 10 weeks. I ran my benefits dry on physio, massage , & accupuncture for sore shoulder blades from carrying her, and while it started whe she was sbout 15 lbs she got heavier and heavier! I did what the physio taught me in the gym before my transfer (and it got much better) but now it's starting to creep back. I can't imagine how taxing 2 babies will be, I'm determined to stay fit, I see it will either be a hard delivery and pain afterwards trying to cope with babies or staying fit during this pregnancy, but SO not looking forward to getting my lazy butt back in there! I said I'd go today but I'm exhausted from the 10 month sleep regression DD is having. There's always tomorrow!


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## elliecain

Fern, I'm loving your scan pics and the scan story. That 12w scan must be amazing, getting to see a real baby shape!

I'm excited about my first scan in 3 days because I'll see how many and see the heart(s) beating, but I know it won't look much like a baby yet on the screen/pics. I'm really excited though and trying not to wish time away. I've spent so many months recently wishing time away in 2 week blocks... 2 weeks until I ovulate, 2 weeks until I'm due on, 2 weeks until I start down regging, 2 weeks until stims, 2 weeks until egg collection. This is my time to savour each moment and really enjoy the stage I'm at. I'm pregnant and I love this fact! The exciting things to come will happen in their time, today is a milestone of reaching 6 weeks and sweetpea week!


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## rebecca822

2have I envy your desire to be in shape and fit. I wish I had the energy to think about exersize.

Eli, congrats on bein 6 weeks. Your scan will be here quicker then you know it :)

Afm- insomnia seems to be my issue these days. I'm exhausted at night at get to bed around 9:30 but then I wake up at 3 or so and lay awake for 2 hours. This has been happening almost every night. I'm starting to get really frustrated!!


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## Fern81

Rq- congrats on the bump!! Yay, don't hide it anymore lol. Mine is simply enormous. When people comment on it's gigantic size I'm quick to blame my very swollen ovary. ;). Hope you have a nice appointment today!

2have - sounds like your dd is already giving you a good workout. .. ugh finding the motivation and energy is so hard! Good luck. X

Ellie- oohh I can't wait to see how many you are cooking :) so glad to see you are still in good spirits. 

Thanks for the positive feedback on my scan pics yesterday ladies. It was a very hard & emotional day for me, I cried so much and feel a bit overwhelmed with the papp-a diagnosis but I'm going to keep pushing it to the back of my mind and be grateful to God for what I have and that I have strength to cope with anything that comes my way.

Question : do you all want your husband to be there when you deliver? 
After watching some birth videos on YouTube I'm even more convinced that I do NOT want my DH in there when I'm delivering! (He can be there during the labour part but he can wait outside for the rest lol). Except if it's a c-section; and then he's standing by my head, not my feet. I DEFINITELY don't want him to ever see and remember any birthing part of me! My brother told me many of his friends now attend the delivery of their babies with a GoPro on their heads to capture every second. My sister and I nearly died when we imagined it! Are we the only ones who feel this way?? Her hubby waited in the hallway when she pushed out her first and that's exactly what I would prefer...


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## beemeck

hi girls!

Glad to hear everyone is doing well! great scans and great numbers - it's so great!! :happydance::happydance: those pics were just amazing fern <3

I hope the headaches calm down soon - headaches are the absolute worst and migraines omg don't even get me started! I've only ever had two but WOW - so sorry froggy. I'm sure as I get nearer to second tri I'll be having some too. 

I can't believe most of you are about to be in second tri - it's so exciting!!! 

DH and I went to the outlets this weekend and for the first time, bought baby stuff that wasn't a gift to someone as a way to announce. it made it seem SO much more real it's crazy. DH has been talking about the baby a lot more, but I wonder if it's because I'm getting farther along. We have our nursery furniture picked out too, but I won't pull the trigger on that yet. I got some maternity pants too ! 

My appt is tomorrow and I'm terrified. I haven't been, but as it creeps up, I'm a mess. I'm going to ask her to do the doppler first thing so I can know right away. eek. then we can discuss the pregnancy. 

fern - to answer your question, I couldn't imagine my DH not being there when baby comes out!!! I think it would be terrible for him to miss that moment. I suppose everyone is different - I know my dad wasn't in with my Mom when she was giving birth. But I know both DH and I wouldn't have it any other way!! I'd be all about the go pro :haha:

prenatal yoga tonight - I'm so excited! I can't wait until I have time to go more than once a week - if that ever happens :haha:


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## froggyfrog

Hurray for a bump rq! I'm with fer, don't hide it! You worked hard for it!

Ellie, I can't wait for your first scan.

2have, I do yoga, but when my head gets really bad I can't move so exercise is impossible. I'm feeling pretty good this morning , so have spent most of it catching up on cleaning. 

Fern, i want dh with me the whole time. I asked him if he is going to watch him come out, and he said probably so, I than asked if he saw that would he think differently about my vagina, and he said of course not. I said OK then you can look. I think it's kind of neat that he will get to watch his son take his first breath.


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## froggyfrog

Beemeck, looking forward to your update tomorrow!


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## elliecain

I'm with Beemeck on that one, my DH needs to be there, see it all and experience the highs and lows with me. I'll be the one telling him to video it, as I've videoed everything along the way... Stimming injection, coming round from retrieval anaesthesia, phone call from embryologist, (not allowed to record transfer :() when I got bfp and when I told DH. Next will be Friday's scan. I want every major moment on film to enjoy again, and the birth will be the icing on the IVF cake for me.

I do see that everyone is different though. You need to do what will make you feel best on the day.

Beemeck, I'm thinking of you tomorrow. It will be awesome! I'm already bricking it about Friday, just emailed my nurse in panic!


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## beemeck

oh no ellie - why are you panicked???


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## elliecain

Just the standard... Why has my heartburn gone? Has something happened? Why don't I have morning sickness? I'm a worrier, I can't help it. I just can't quite still believe it has finally happened for me.


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## beemeck

oh girl I'm so with you. just know that I'm been completely symptomless this pregnancy! I hated it at first, but after my 8 week scan with no symptoms and all well, I've tried to relax and appreciate it. early days are harder though - but know it's gets ever so SLIGHTLY easier every day and every milestone. :hugs:


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## rebecca822

Beemeck good luck tomorrow!!

Fern- when I was in labor with my DD my husband was there the whole time. He mostly was watching tv and in his own little world lol. He got me drinks when I needed them and helped me go to the bathroom. Then I ended up with an emergency c and he was there sitting next to me and although he didn't watch the surgery he saw the baby pretty much right away. 
I think it's a really special moment in parenthood and can't imagine him missing out. If we have a vaginal birth I want him right next to me and no where near the action.


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## 2have4kids

Beemack very excited to hear about your scan, gl!! 

Ellie, my pregnancies are almost completely symptomless. Don't worry feel glad you're not heaving or nauseous. 

DH was there for DD's birth and I just asked him and he said he wouldn't want to have missed it. It's even more exciting being team yellow, I thought for sure we were having a boy., I was shocked and surprised to see that it was a little girl! In our birthing class they taught us all about massage and relaxation and during labour I didn't want him touching me. I felt like I was over heating and his hands were warm making me more hot & uncomfortable, I enjoyed the shower at home and the tens machine for pain relief (and of course the eventual epidural). 

I don't blame you Froggy, when I have a headache the last thing I want to do is exercise!! I will go today, just having my 3rd breakfast this morning lol. I get SO hungry in the mornings it's crazy. 6am oatmeal, 8:30 Turkey sausages and fruit, 11:30 eggs and salad. And now I have to boogy to the gym before my tummy starts rumbling with hunger again :haha:


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## Rq120

Fern - hubby wants to be there but doesn't want to watch the "action". He said he just wants to stand by my head and hold my hand. I think that is fine with me. 

So, went to my first OB appt with a new office. They are a very big office (8 docs that deliver), however, I did like ALL the staff I encountered. The doc today was really great. The only person I didn't like was the lady who drew my blood. 
I was there for 2 hours and whew there was a lot to do. 
I got another US even though I wasn't scheduled for one. They said it's hard to hear the heartbeats on Doppler this early and it's even harder to tell the twins apart so they just did one. They said to expect an US about every month to monitor growth rates and measure cervical length. I have a cyst on my left ovary (not a corpus lutem) and they will have to keep an eye on it. My cervix length was great. The babies are doing great. The heartbeats were 166 and 173 and were measuring spot on just a day apart. They said Baby B was right underneath my belly button!
After my US I met with the OB nurse and received intro information and discussed birth options (ie hospital, classes, C-section vs vaginal, due date, etc). 
Then I met with the doc who went ahead and did a pap and a general exam. 
Then I got some labs drawn. 
I looked up insurance coverage for the blood genetic testing and went ahead with that. The doc said if I did the blood test then I wouldn't really need a NT scan. It was covered with insurance with a decent copay so after talking to hubby I opted for the blood test option.
I shouldn't need to see a MFM doc unless there are complications. The only time I will see one for my 20 week scan. They want a specialist's office doing that because of the twins.

So I know there is something I'm forgetting that I wanted to share, but my brain is fried from that appt and then going to work with a million emails sitting in my inbox.
 



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## elliecain

Lovely scans Rq, congratulations!

Are we going to get a group signature picture? I don't know how we go about it, anyone in touch with any of the clever girls who have made them for other journals/groups? We might need to get a catchy shorter name to go with it!


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## 2have4kids

Rq nice scan photos. Glad to hear your genetic testing is covered. Wish we had the blood tests covered here in Canada!


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## Fern81

Rq- lovely pics! They look completely different :) I'm guessing boy/girl! So glad you had an indepth appointment and happy with your experience. You are really fortunate to have a lot covered.

Ellie& beemeck - so looking forward to both your scans. I've never had any ms; sometimes I forget I'm pregnant because I have almost no symptoms. Don't worry xx

Ellie you (or anyone else) are welcome to create a siggy pic :) I have NO idea how to!! Really bad with computers. Sorry lol.


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## rebecca822

Wow Rq sound like a lot of info. Your babies are so cute and so human looking :)
My first OB appointment is Thursday and I'm really looking forward. I love me OB and I'm so happy to be back in his practice. 
Rq, I was told the same thing about the number of scans. Normally they don't do that many but with twins they want to make sure they're growing pretty equally.

Elli- I'm also a huge worrier and lack of symptoms freaked me out when I was pregnant with my daughter. There were a few days this time the nausea disappeared but I didn't worry as much since I had a good outcome last time :)


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## Fern81

Beemeck- hope you have a great scan today x

Froggy- have you been feeling your son move again? What does it feel like? :)


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## beemeck

thank you for all the well wishes! I'm just holding my breath until the appt! 3 hours to go!! :coffee:


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## froggyfrog

Beautiful scans ladies!! All of these scans are making me jealous! My next one isn't for another 6 weeks!!

Fern I haven't felt it again. Sometimes I sit really still and try to concentrate on the spot I felt it before but I got nothing!! Hoping I'll feel him again soon. I can't belive I'm 14 weeks today!!


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## Prayingforno1

Congrats on week 14 Froggy!! Wow time is really flying by.

I have my next scan/testing on Friday morning-I can't wait to see what our baby is up to and praying all is well!!


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## 2have4kids

Beemack looking forward to your scan update. 

Froggy 14 weeks already? Time flies when you're pregnant lol.

We've got out 12 week NT scan next Thursday, can't wait! And that also means weaning off all the drugs :happydance::bunny: 

Is anyone else's tummy always rumbling? I just had oatmeal at 8:30 and here it's 10:30 and I feel starved! I'm having some protein & a salad now , but oh the hunger is just constant! 

Got to the gym yesterday yay! My tummy was rumbling all the way through:grr: I could happily be holding a burger while sweating up a storm on the elliptical. I'm sure I'd get some strange looks:haha:
Last night I dreamt about the turkey borritos we had for dinner.:wacko:
I definitely didn't feel this ravenous with my first pregnancy. Hopefully it goes away when I stop injecting progesterone?


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## froggyfrog

2have, I have some days where I'm like that. I just blame it on maybe the baby is having a growth spurt. Yesterday I had a bowl of cheerios, a salad, a string cheese, a sweet potato 2 fruit bars a plum and then for dinner I had two sloppy joes.


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## Fern81

2have I've felt that way ALL THE TIME since 4weeks! And no it didn't stop when I stopped my progesterone. I literally get dizzy and faint if I don't eat all.the.time. And I have to have carbs at least 3× a day otherwise I feel like I'm going to pass out. It's a completely foreign feeling, I've been doing low carb/carb free for years (with occasional cheats); and have been basically only eating plain veg, healthy oils, organic meat, dairy & eggs for MONTHS prior to IVF! I am not used to this massive appetite. And everything is growing fast; my uterus is huge and sticking out far above my pubic bone, gaining weight, etc... 

Froggy- 14 weeks!! You'll feel him again soon. :)

Ugh our power is out AGAIN so I'm sitting here in the dark with a half-cooked dinner, watching out for beemeck's update hehe. South Africa's electricity provider is absolutely useless. We have power outages for 6-12 hours at a time almost every fortnight :(. Already worrying about finding battery operated bottle warmers etc.


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## 2have4kids

Uh, well glad I'm not alone in this insatiable hunger!

Fern that's not good about your power. Just out if curiosity, is the power corp private or gov't owned? 

Beemack...stalking!


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## beemeck

aw you girls are the best. I'm suddenly so, so nervous. eek. leaving in 10 - appt is 2:15 but they take forever there, ugh. 

ps. I can't stop eating either!! if I'm not getting carbs, it might as well be like I'm eating nothing. so unlike me too!


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## rebecca822

I'm totally eating all day. Mostly crackers and snack foods.
Lots of bread and pasta.
My goal is to drink two 17 oz water bottles every day. It's really tough since it makes me a little naesous but I know I need to stay hydrated.

Beemeck, good luck!!!

My scan at the OB is tomorrow. I'm so excited and nervous!


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## froggyfrog

Ugh, fern I was on another thread for years and one of the ladies there was from south Africa and would tell us about the outages. That would get on my nerves so bad!!!


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## elliecain

With you all on the eating thing. Today I got some real nausea for the first time while we were out in town and I think it was because I let myself get hungry. I've felt queasy on and off since but better once I got some carbs in me! I had even emailed my nurse yesterday, saying I was anxious that I had no morning sickness!!!

Can't wait for update from you, Beemeck. I'm excited about my scan again now, just 40 more hours to wait!!!


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## rebecca822

El, I also have a scan tomorrow. Yay!
I notice I'm most nauseous when I get hungry. I try to not let myself get hungry and just keep munching all day. It's hard because there's not a lot that I enjoy eating. I love love cheesecake and my husband brought me home a slice of really delicious cheesecake last week and I haven't even touched it. It just doesn't appeal to me &#128532;


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## beemeck

All is good with baby! Was found on the Doppler within 30 seconds and heart rate is 170. However my cyst is out of control. She thinks it got bigger from my scan based on feeling and seeing (yes seeing!) it from looking at my abdomen. I guess that's what my bump is all about lol. She said it's about the size of an orange right now and at high risk for bursting or twisting since it has no where left to go. My uterus has pushed it from my pelvis to my abdomen. So she's concerned but said it won't affect baby. She wants to remove it if it doesn't go down by second tri :( I'm so hoping it does !!! Scan on Tuesday to get a good look at it .....


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## elliecain

Yay, great heartbeat! Sorry about the cyst but they are keeping a close eye on you. I bet you were so relieved today!


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## 2have4kids

Beemack that's great news about the baby! Sorry to hear about your cyst, that's huge, are you in pain from it? If they have to remove it let it be quick & painfree!


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## beemeck

Thanks girls. Yes it's very painful. I wake in the night every time I roll to that side. That just started though. She said that's bc previously it was in my pelvis and now it's in my abdomen so will be feeling it a lot more. She said no more yoga or anything remotely strenuous. It could burst any second- eek! Although that would be extremely painful, I would prefer that to the twisting and possibly even to the risk of removing it ... So yeah hopefully it just shrinks !


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## 2have4kids

Beemack years ago I had a cyst burst, I was beside myself in pain. It happened at work, reduced me to tears and I had to have DH pick me up. I also had one aspirated at the fs office and it was only slightly painful, I had no pain meds. So don't be scared, those doctors know what they're doing! The bcp always gave my cysts. So I only ever took bcp for ivf down regging. Either way, sorry to hear you're cut off from yoga. I understand how awesome it makes you feel, it's like the gym for me. You're almost in 2nd tri so hopefully it won't last too long!


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## rebecca822

Beemeck sounds horrible I hope it gets better soon and doesn't cause you any more pain.

I had the most horrible night. I was up from 1am-5am! Finally at 4:30 I decided to take a shower since at least it would give me something to do and 1 less thing in the morning.
Finally I fell asleep to the sound of birds waking up at about 5:20.
Ughhhh!

My OB appointment is soon in super nervous and excited, I'll update you a bit later.


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## elliecain

Good luck Rebecca. I hope it goes well. My first scan is tomorrow and I expect I'll struggle to sleep tonight with excitement and nerves.


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## beemeck

good luck with the scans girls!!! can't wait for good news :hugs:

rebecca - I've been awake the past two nights. it's horrendous and I feel like crap today. 

leaving for chicago in a few hours so I'll be MIA but can't wait to see the updates when I return!


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## Fern81

Oh goodness beemeck! Take care!! At least the bump is STILL all due to pregnancy :). So glad baby is doing well!

Aw shame rebecca I hope you sleep better tonight. And you, Ellie.

I love that there are constantly so many scans & appointments happening, bring on the updates!

Afm- hubby came up with the greatest boy name last night! So excited. I don't want to post it on here but it is a bit similar to Gage ;).


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## froggyfrog

I hope it shrinks for you soon beemeck!

Gl at your scans rebecca!

How exciting your first scan is tomorrow ellie, I'm so happy for you!

Fern, hmm what could it be??? Now I really want to know!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca & Ellie, bring on those scans!


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## Rq120

Hi all. I told my boss(es) today that I was expecting. My main boss was very enthusiastic. He can't wait until I tell the rest of my team. I told him I would prob just send an email. I have a little funny to send (a meme of when you ask a women she is pregnant). So I will prob send out an email to the team this week or early next. Whew! I'm glad that is off my plate.


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## Fern81

Haha what a relief rq!

Froggy- lol I just don't want to post any personal details including names on here where anyone can view it. Anybody curious about our baby's name or any other personal info is welcome to pm me!

2have - to answer your previous question, the power company is state owned & administrated (that explains everything basically). Feel free to read about Eskom on Wikipedia; surprisingly a lot of facts on there! Africa has many lovely features but our government is not one of them.


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## rebecca822

Rq great news about telling your boss. I plan to tell mine soon too.

Scan was great and so was my appointment. We sat down and discussed what my appointments would look like. I go back at week 16 and then at week 20 they do the anatomy scan at the hospital since they want a very thorough scan.
From week 20 until about 32 I go every two weeks (normally it's very 4 weeks) and then at 32 weeks until delivery I will go weekly. There will be a scan every 4 weeks to measure the growth and make sure both babies are growing equally.
Oh, and the tech said she's not too sure they we have two boys so we'll see more clearly in 4 weeks :)


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## Rq120

Great news Rebecca. I'm glad your appt went well.


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## froggyfrog

So awesome that your news is out rq! Your bump was bound to tell on you soon!!

Glad your appointment went good Rebecca!


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies, do you mind me joining in? I am a bit late to the party but I have been a little nervous about joining a pregnancy group until I hit my 12 week milestone. Plus all groups looked a bit scary and I am so happy I have come across this one. I recognise most of your names from the assisted conception thread, even though we may not have spoken and feel much happier sharing my jounery with ladies who also fought so hard to get here - Hi 2have :hi: 
There are a lot of pages to read but I have gone to the beginning to try and understand how everyone made to it to here. I am sorry for everyone's struggles and I can certainly relate. Congratulations to everyone on their pregnancy and I hope you are enjoying every moment of it. 

A little about me, we TTC for 5 years, after 3 OE cycles we moved onto DE last year, first ended in a double ectopic and my tubes were removed, the next FET was a bfn and finally a new donor gave us one beautiful heartbeat. I am currently 12w 4d and my EDD is 05/02/17 and planning to be team yellow. We've had 3 scans in total and our 12 week was on Monday and everything is perfect so for the first time I am truly believing this is happening for us.

I see everyone has got the munches at the moment, I so wish that was the case for me, I have been suffering with terrible nausea and tiredness since wk6 and it does not seem to shifting. I am totally off my food and struggling to eat, being such a foodie this is very depressing, I can't wait for the 'I want to eat everything' stage if that ever happens. In terms of exercising, I am struggling to even get off the sofa at the moment but hoping to join a local pregnancy yoga group and a prenatal aerobics class, I definitely want to try stay fit and healthy, I just need to get past this stage first.

Thanks for reading and I am looking forward to joining the thread and sharing our journeys together.

:flower:


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## froggyfrog

Hi pinkie!!! Wow what a journey! Congrats on your perfect bean! glad to have you here !


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## nimbec

Hi Pinkie welcome & congratulations!! I'm so pleased to hear all is looking great for you :) 

I just thought I'd pop in and say I got another cheeky scan today at the fertility clinic and saw the hb again it was so nice to see especially as hubby was with me - he wasn't there Monday! I feel spoilt 2 scans in one week! They are planning to scan me again in 2 weeks time and the early pregnancy unit locally will see me too I just have to say when :) 

Good luck tomorrow Ellie exciting times!! What time is your scan? 

Hi to everyone else !


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## elliecain

Hi Pinkie and welcome. I know what you mean about this thread being safer. I'm on 2 due in March "normal" ones and I don't feel particularly connected because going through ivf gives this whole thing a totally different feel. I feel much more connected here.

Nimbec, lucky you with another scan! I've found some Groupon deals for scans already that I intend to purchase. I won't go more than a few weeks without seeing my baby. My first scan is at 1pm tomorrow, so excited and nervous. I can't wait to see the heartbeat!


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## 2have4kids

Fern81 said:


> Haha what a relief rq!
> 
> Froggy- lol I just don't want to post any personal details including names on here where anyone can view it. Anybody curious about our baby's name or any other personal info is welcome to pm me!
> 
> 2have - to answer your previous question, the power company is state owned & administrated (that explains everything basically). Feel free to read about Eskom on Wikipedia; surprisingly a lot of facts on there! Africa has many lovely features but our government is not one of them.

Fern, New Zealand had the same thing happen in the '90's. They actually went bankrupt and couldn't support the power grid so Auckland was out of power for ~ a month. I worked for TransAlta in Canada at the time and they went in there, bought the existing infrastructure (cheap obviously) and fixed everything up. Many Canadian TransAlta employees moved to NZ (what a dream). My plan is to retire there. I lived there for a year in 1996. Loved it! Sailed with quite a few lovely South African folks in the local sailing club :boat:

Pinkie! You'll love this thread <3 very positive lovely ladies, all very supportive. Sorry to hear you're struggling with ms. Has your doctor suggested anything? Hoe you feel better soon.

Can't wait to hear about more scans ladies, bring them on!


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## rebecca822

Pinkie, I feel like I recognize you from one of the assisted conception threads.
So glad you joined :)
I'm just 5 days behind you with my twins.
I can definitely understand the not wanting to eat. There are very few foods I enjoy these days. Most of it I just eat to keep my belly full.


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## Fern81

Pinkie- hi and you are so very welcome! I've seen you around on my stalking journeys ;) and am SO happy for you to be joining us. Congrats on your pregnancy!! I will add you to the front page.

Nimbec- yeyyyy for a growing baby!!!! 

Rebecca - so glad you and the twinnies are still doing well. :)

2have - power out for a MONTH! Wow now a day doesn't seem that bad lol. Moving to NZ does seem like a dream come true :) maybe we'll meet up there when we're old!!

Ellie- looking forward to your scan results. :)

Phew what a day I've had! I'm quitting part of my job after MANY disputes and policy changes since January where I always end up losing income, have no job security at that place, etc etc... My loyalty has finally run out and now my baby is #1 priority so I have to take responsibility for my job security and rather expand my own business. I'm so angry and upset today, think my bp is sky-high. It means a lot of scary changes but all of the facilitators at that academy are being treated like dirt, not informed of policy changes, have lost at least half our income since last year etc. Ugh.

Ok enough of that. In other news, very grateful to be in 2nd tri <3 <3 thank you God!! The thing I'm most looking forward to is feeling baby move!


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## froggyfrog

Happy 13th weeks fern!!!


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## Fern81

Pinkie I see you're due on the same day as Rq, just 2 days behind me :). We are a bunch due all at once; I can already see some of us having contractions & updating on the same day from our hospital beds/pools/etc on the same day lol (right after we've shared in Froggy and all the twin mommas' delivery stories!).


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## rebecca822

Fern, can't wait till that happens! Looking forward to having these babies and hearing all your experiences :)

Happy second trimester Fern!

Although my ticker shows second trimester I'll consider myself second at 13 weeks.


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## Fern81

Thanks ladies!

By the way sorry everyone; I don't always "thank" posts, I'm usually on my phone and if I click on "thank" it takes my phone ages to refresh :)... just wanted to let you all know I love and appreciate all your kind posts; just mostly without officially thanking you for it :)


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## nimbec

Hi everyone 

Happy 2nd trimester Fern! Sorry to hear about your stress work is such a stressful thing at times, I'm sure you are making the right decision for your family...it maybe scary to take the plunge but once you see things working out well hopefully you will look back and think it was the best decision made :) 

Pinkie I'm sure I recognise you too, it's clear we have all been around for quite some time - but hey we made it &#128512;

Ellie ....I'm on tender hooks.....any news? 

Rebecca I know it's strange in the uk 12 weeks is classed as second tri whereas lots of other places go for thirteen - at the moment I'll opt for 12 as its closer &#128514;

Hope everyone else is ok?


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, Fern sorry to hear about your job. Do you get maternity leave/pay where you live? It seems companies do everything in their power to save $$, not pay workers, and in my boat management is terribly unqualified. They quite often hire yes men rather than educated people who'd be competent at the job. But here's a little fun fact that might put a smile on your face. Women will take over the world. According to a study published in The Economist called Womenomics (google it), women are enrolled far more than men in university academic subjects, they have much better grades than men, they're taking over more management positions than ever before, when instituted on boards of directors and upper echelons in companies they make more profits and hold more peace between directing officers than men do. It's just wonderful! But at my workplace we have a looong looong way to go. Of all the designers my boss started grooming the one token male to take over for him when he's on holidays etc when this guy doesn't have half of the education or skill as some of the ladies, he's the least senior, he's not a people person and doesn't answer emails. Why does this ways happen?

Ellie stalking for those scan results!

Rant over. Feeling tired today. DD was up at 2-4am last night, then I couldn't get back to sleep till 6am. Thankfully DH is home or I could not have done her usual 7am wake up call! In 6 more sleeps well be doing the big NT scan. Very excited!

I hope everyone is doing well.


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## Fern81

2have - I can SO relate to that!!! I agree, my female students are really grabbing life by the horns and applying for neurophysiology and engineering degrees; the students I have the most trouble with (lazy, don't work, don't listen) are mostly male. Not always, and I have some very weak female students, but it's definitely interesting and uplifting to see how women are advancing, albeit slowly! I watched "He named me Malala" the other day and was moved to tears by such a brave young woman and how change IS possible. 

Yep some businesses here do offer mat leave and such, but I own my own business and clients (students) pay me per hour that I teach. So if I don't work, I don't get paid. The academy I'm quitting, is at least just 10% of my client base. So no mat leave pay for me, I'm saving up though to try and have enough cash flow for at least a few months.

Ellie Belle, thinking of you!


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## Rq120

Hi ladies. Hope everyone is feeling well.

Welcome Pinkie. We are always open to having more lovely ladies in our group. When you have been through as much as some of us, then you deserve a safe and loving place to get support. Amazing story - congrats on your BFP.

I'm glad I got the office announcements out of the way yesterday. People keeping almost spilling the beans on facebook so I think hubby and I will make a big announcement this weekend. Sad story - my mom is crazy and about 2 months ago (right before I found out I'm pregnant) she called me and told me what a horrible person I was, etc. So hubby and I have kinda been keeping the news close and off social media. But we figure it is going to get out eventually and then get back to my mom. Sigh! It's sad that I have to worry about this stupid complication to my good news. Oh well, I'll just say a prayer and hope for the best. 

Fun weekend plans anyone? Thankfully we have a low key weekend planned. I might go shopping for maternity dress pants. I had to dress up this week and I only had one stretchy pair of pants that fit. It might be important to have another pair for work.


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## elliecain

Hi all.

Great news today! 1 baby, CRL of 6.6mm so on track for dates. Heartbeat was over 120 and I saw the little flicker. It was emotional and amazing, especially as my favourite nurse ever was doing it.

I'm exhausted now, after not getting much sleep at all last night. DH has freaked out this evening and we had a big argument because his laptops were all over the sofa and I needed to sit down. I ended the argument by shouting "I need to sit down because I've got a pessary up my ar*e"!!! It's all sorted now, but I'm worried that he's totally freaked out by the whole thing and seeing the actual heartbeat set him off (followed by terrible traffic and 3 hours driving home).


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## rebecca822

Ellicain- so happy everything went well. It makes it so real to see it on the screen. 
Sorry you were fighting with DH, it can be so stressful and our hormones are haywire.


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## nimbec

Rq gosh family can be so difficult at times I'm so sorry you have this extra worry. Happy shopping though - hopefully you may find some good bargains! 

Ellie yay amazing news!!! I was beginning to worry as we hadn't heard from you. Sorry about your other half sometimes men can be very odd creatures and deal with things in funny ways. I'm sure he is thrilled! You did make me chuckle I would have probably said the same &#128514; They have no idea what we have to go through!!! Hugs hope all is ok now. 

I'm exhausted went to work today very silly I'm still meant to be in bed rest but Hubby and I own our own company and my sales team needed a good kick up the backside as Ive been off so long they had got in to some bad habits!! After a few tellings business was back to normal - I am now formally named by management in the company 'the ball busting bitch' hahaha love it seeing as they only listen to me &#128580;. I'm very nice too, I do have a laugh and a joke with them! they have excellent perks working for us and are paid very well. However I'm ruined now &#128531; And still working &#128531;&#128531; not much left then a relaxing weekend!!


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## Fern81

Nimbec- so glad that you have reliable staff to help you out, even if they need some "motivation" now and then lol! Hope you get some rest.

Yay Ellie congrats I'm so happy for you! Hope your baby keeps growing perfectly. X Sorry that you and your hubby are fighting. I think it's not too unusual, even though it really doesn't help matters now that you need his support & for him to take care of you more than ever. I posted about my woes with dh a while back and so many ladies posted advice and that they've also gone through the wringer with their SO!

Dh and I fought A LOT when I first found out I was pregnant. I expected him to be more supportive etc and, well, he was just as inconsiderate as always. And he got stressed out when we started talking about all the home renovations and financial implications of a baby (I swear that man still thinks having a baby costs nothing, it's just a small human who takes up almost no space!). Of course I was/am also hugely stressed over the financial side of things, and being fatigued and feeling overwhelmed didn't help. So we fought so much he threatened to leave a few times. After our first scan I told him well, this baby didn't ask to be here. We have the responsibility now to care for him/her so we have to figure out how to get along for the baby's sake. And selectively sent him a lot of articles on how intense fighting/screaming can adversely affect a fetus. He never, ever admits that he is wrong (not even to himself) but after that day he has stopped freaking out every time I ask him to do something for me. He has even paid for one or two baby-related expenses. 

ETA: Well, scrap that last bit. The man just started screaming at me because I asked him AGAIN to email/forward me the account for the water&lights so I can pay it (I've been asking for a month). He has been screaming like a crazy maniac for about 30 minutes. I really hate him right now.


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## elliecain

I'm sorry your DH is being such a dick right now. I think they don't have the emotional attachment to the baby that we have, and just feel the rather overwhelming sense of responsibility. 

I'm going to back off mine for a bit, not say too much about the money side or any of the things we need to plan. I'm a very organised person and can cope fine doing the planning myself. I planned our wedding last year and, when it was clear he didn't know much about it and was too disorganised, I realised I needed to back off and just do it rather than end up fighting. Yesterday was mainly that it had been a long and emotional day, we were both knackered and it all came out sideways. We were both at fault but, to give him his due, as soon as he saw how wrought I was, he stopped and just held me and let me sob. It was the first time he's backed down like that and the argument stopped in its tracks. We are both so stubborn and we don't communicate particularly well at times!


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## nimbec

Oh ladies what is wrong with these men &#128545; I'm so sorry they are being idiots right at a time they should be being super supportive!! I'm sure it will all sort itself out over the coming months...just a warning my hubby had a mini meltdown when Harrison was born he couldn't and didn't want to accept the change in our life and as much as he loves Harrison he was an arse for a while until he realised the error of his ways! He is hugely apologetic about it now and can't believe his behaviour he is normally such a considerate character so these little bundles of joy totally change things - he promises he won't be the same this time and I know he won't be we are in a very different place and the shock will be no where near as big! If I can offer some advice it would be to some how prepare them later on before the birth about the changes...something I should have done more of. Hugs to you both!


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## Rq120

Hi ladies. All these stories of men are making me smile a little. Not that anyone is having issues with there loved ones, just the little frustrations every relationship goes through.

I ran around all day today and I am worn out. I had an appt to get my air conditioning in my car fixed. And then I went to several stores looking for maternity dress pants...no luck. Then hubby and I gussied up and took announcement photos at the park. Then dinner with his parents because they are moving to Florida next weekend. Now we have some friends over and I am laying on the couch.


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## rebecca822

My issue these days is that I have zero libido and my husband drives me nuts trying to get me into bed. No interest!! I feel bad for poor hubby but in freaken carrying his twins!


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## Fern81

Deleted. I vented about my marriage again but at this stage I shouldn't be posting anything about it.

Baby and I'm ok, can feel my uterus stretching and growing :) I'll focus on all the good stuff instead!

Hope you are all having a good weekend. X


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## nimbec

Hi Fern please do not feel you have to delete your post (I did see it before it went and there was nothing to worry about) for some reason my reply has disappeared! I think this is the perfect place to vent where all of us women face challenges and understand each other. Men can be such idiots at times, well lots of times and you shouldn't have to deal with this childish behaviour on his side &#128531;. I think you are right to focus on the positives, you & your baby and I would be completely selfish and do things that make you feel happy and secure - he will catch on eventually and realise he is missing out on time he will never get back. Sending you huge hugs and you are welcome to pm me anytime if you want to vent to somebody ((((hugs)))) xxx


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## Myshelsong

Hey ladies. Back from a great vacation, went hoteling, exploring and beaching. Got to Manitoulin island one day and went swimming in a waterfall. It was so fun, then yesterday went to sauble beach and for crazy burnt on my legs.... Guess I forgot the sunscreen in some places.

Looks like I have missed a lot! Sorry I am slowly reading back but it looks like we got a new member. Welcome and happy healthy nine months.

It makes me sad to see that after all our struggles to get pregnant in the first place, with our significant others that the stress and sometimes anger are still on the surface of the relationship. I really hope the arguments and anxieties pass for you guys.

Thankfully hubs and I have been able to talk through most of the financials and life things prior to actually getting pregnant as we were intending to adopt, and it is one of the things that they force you to talk through during our sessions with our social worker. I am crazy lucky he has been super supportive.


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies,

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Sorry to hear of the DH troubles, pregnancy hormones and men not understanding don't go too well together, hopefully they will get there soon enough. 

Fern, please don't feel you needed to delete that message, I too saw it this morning on my phone and feel free to rant away. I agree there is more to this and my advice is to have it out with him even if it causes another argument, it will only continue to play on your mind and cause more anxiety in the long run. Find out what is wrong, if he has messed up and lied then deal with it and move on. He needs to realise this is not good for you or the baby and after everything you have gone through to get where you are this should be his priority. Good luck. On a happier note love that you are feeling the stretching and growing. 

Ellie, congratulations on the scan, glad it went well. I don't really remember mine from crying so much, it's a wonderful feeling. 

2have, only a few more days until your scan, hope you are feeling ok. 

Myshelsong, hi, your break sounds wonderful glad you had a good time.

How was everyone's weekend? Mine has been fairly chilled, I am still not feeling great so not a lot I can do, I feel the sickness is easing a little but have been suffering with terrible headaches. Friday I went to a friends, we were planning to head to a coffee shop for lunch, I had to share our good news as soon as I arrived because I couldn't face going out, she was very kind and I spent the afternoon lying on her sofa while she feed me salted Pringles and water.


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## Pinkie3

Ladies, how do I get a ticker? X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie3 said:


> Ladies, how do I get a ticker? X

Going to lilipie.com and you can create a ticker


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, 
Myshelsong, sounds like a great vacation!
Fern, my DH and I fight all the time. Yesterday I waited around for him till 1pm to go to a festival we had planned yo take DD to. After her 10am nap he thought she might need yet another nap before we go (she only takes 2/day now). So I'm reading in the bedroom and hear him crack a beer in the living room. He's not trying to put her down, apparently it's time for a beer. It gets insanely hot between 1-3pm in the afternoon so I told him the next time he wants to delay, delay, and delay some more until it's swealtering outside, I'm going to leave him at home with her and go fo my own thing (I could quite happily go to the gym). So we'll see if this happens again, we're going to another festival on Monday. Somehow I don't think he'll be cracking a beer at 1pm!

Hi Pinkie, sorry to hear you're still not feeling well! You know a goid friend when they don't mind lazing with you <3 for the ticker, if you click on mine it takes you to the bump and there you can set one up. Copy the BB code into your signature here. 

Ellie, I'm glad your scan went well. I too planned our wedding and recidved very little thanks for it frim DH. Had I left it to him it would have been done last minute snd it would have been a catastrophe. Our venue would have booked put and we would have paid a fortune whatever we'd done. We were married overseas in Scotland, it was alot of work!

Rq congrats on the announcement photos, when are you releasing them?

Rebecca, we're just the opposite, DH never wants to BD and I've always had a healthy libido, pregnant or not. Apparently one person always wants more in every relationship, c'est la vie!

I'm just sitting here with a catty grump of a 10 month old who refuses to have her morning nap.


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## Rq120

Myshelsong - your vacation sounds amazing. I'm counting down to mine in September. 

2have - we were doing to post the annoucement on Facebook this weekend but I decided to wait until the Materniti21 test results come in. Then we will know we have 2 healthy babies in there. I think they should come in about Wednesday this week.

Here is what I think will be the announcement.
 



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## Myshelsong

I love it RQ!
So cute. Good luck on the tests!


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## 2have4kids

Ohh RQ that's SO sweet! Love it, these things always make me tear up. :cry:


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## rebecca822

Rq I just love that!!! 
Can't wait for Wednesday! It will be amazing :)

I can't believe I need to wait 4 weeks until we see our babies again. I haven't gone more than a week without seeing them until now. I have no idea how I'll make it 4 weeks.


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## elliecain

Rq, that's perfect, I'm crying here! So much good luck for the test. I'm currently trying to decide if I want to get Harmony done and, if so, whether I do it at 10 weeks or wait until after the NT test at 12w.

We are most likely going to announce after the 12w scan, assuming the NT test is clear. I've got a very cute plan for our FB announcement and I needed one prop. I bid on something on eBay and I won it yesterday, so now I truly can't wait, even though I'm still finding it hard to believe I'm actually pregnant. Apart from sore boobs, massive tiredness, the odd cramp and some nausea if I get hungry, I'm just not feeling pregnant at all!!! Um, reading that list back makes me think maybe I'm just in some kind of self-protective denial.

When I go back to school in September (I'm a teacher), I'll be 11+6 and I'm hoping to get my scan done on 11+3, so out f the way before term starts. That way, I can do the FB thing at the weekend and then my colleagues will know when I go back on the Monday and I can tell my tutor group on the Tuesday when they come back. My girls are going to be so excited!


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## Pinkie3

Rq, lovely picture, you both look really happy,q enjoy sharing your news.

I must be the only one not making a big announcement I have told close friends and family but everyone else will find out as and when. 

2have, sorry DH made you miss the festival, definitely leave him at home next time and go enjoy yourself. 

Ellie, I was undecided about the Harmony test too, so I decided to get my nuchal done and I am waiting for the results of that. Depending on what the number comes back at then I will decide if to go for the harmony too. 

Rebecca, I feel the same about not seeing baby. I have to wait until my 20 week scan which means going 8 weeks. I don't know how people only have two scans throughout their whole pregnancy. 

Ladies, do you think I have any need to be worried? You all know that I have been struggling with sickness and eating for the last 7 weeks and I am a bit concerned that I am not giving my baby enough nutrition. I always told myself when I was pregnant that I would feed myself with lots of goodness and colourful foods but apart from a piece of fruit a day i have been living on dry foods. I am trying to have some milk and cheese plus if I can manage half a sandwich I try and have tuna. I haven't touched a vegetable in weeks, even the thought makes me gag. I am keeping everything down and drinking lots of water. I am also taking my multivitamins each day so hoping that is substituting my lack of intake. I just feel a bit disappointed in myself that I am not treating my body as I always imagined I would. 

I hope everyone has a good day x


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## Fern81

Pinkie- don't be too hard on yourself, your terrible ms is not your fault. Just look at Kate Middleton who had HG and still had a perfect little boy (nice public example lol!). You are doing your best, multivitamins will definitely help. I definitely suggest making sure you get your 27mg iron and enough calcium daily (don't take it together though! I take my preggie vit in the AM, extra folic acid, salmon oil and iron at lunch time, then extra calcium at bedtime). Can you stomach diluted fruit or carrot juice at all? Btw we're not doing a fb announcement at all, I dislike fb. Also told our families & close friends over the phone. But I'm thinking of a gender-and-name reveal teaparty for our close family just so I can see their faces when they find out!

Rq- that is soooo lovely! Looks like you had fun :) you both look happy and relaxed. Congrats on your announcement! Will you be finding out the gender too, from your tests?

2have - your nt scan is coming up soon right? 

Thanks for letting me vent... I just think I should be careful of posting too many details in case we split up. Don't want to give him any more ammunition than he already has. He is refusing to sort things out and things are horrible; I'm so upset just because every time I try to talk to him he shuts me down & tells me how many problems there are in my personality... so many verbal attacks. This morning I finally told him about the PAPP-A results and asked if he could just leave me alone so that my bp doesn't sky-rocket (he knows I had to get a bp monitor but hasn't asked ONCE how I'm feeling or how my bp is doing; or even why I had to get the monitor in the first place). He still didn't apologize or make a commitment to help keep my bp down by not upsetting me so much; after I told him all about the diagnosis he ignored it and turned the focus on himself again. I sincerely hope he just completely ignores me from now on because he clearly doesn't care about me or our baby. I said I'm going to stay out of his way but like an idiot I keep going up to him and asking if we can sort things out.... which always ends in me upset and him feeling superior. If I had any options at all, I would leave him. :(

Andddd I have another horrible cold/flu with body aches, can't breathe, cold shivers, omw what a terrible weekend! And tomorrow I'm telling the head of the academy that I'm quitting! Turn, wheel, turn! Things can seriously only get better from here on. :/


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## Fern81

Pinkie for a ticker- if you like someone's ticker just click on it and it will take you to that specific ticker making website. The site will guide you step by step through designing the ticker. Then at the end of the ticker-making process, you will see a lot of codes displayed. Choose the one that says "bb code" by highlighting the whole code and right click to copy. Then back on bnb you just paste that whole code into your signature. It will update automatically. (Just a heads-up: the lilypie ticker I'm using is annoying me a bit because it has the baby crl size wrong. At 13 weeks the average lenght is 7,4cm, not 9cm.)


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## rebecca822

Pinkie, my doctor assured me that it is ok if we can't eat very nutritious meals during pregnancy. The most important thing is to stay hydrated. With my daughter I was really sick and lost a lot of weight and barely ate anything. She was born healthy and perfect at 41+4 weighing 7lb 3 oz.


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## Myshelsong

Wow Fern, I really hope things get better for you Hun. It is stressful being pregnant and on top of that your blood pressure issue. I am so sorry. 
Have you guys always had issues with money and his insensitivity or has this just come up now that you got pregnant? Big hugs Hun.

I know it is hard not to worry about your food intake, but you need to give yourself a break. You are doing the best that you can. Take your vitamins if you can, right now folic is the most important if you can't stomach the rest yet. If you can't eat healthy try to drink healthy. Fruit juices, tomato juice, even those meal replacement protein drinks are great to try. Try nuts and granola and dried fruit for nibbling. Good luck!!

I also wanted to eat healthy this pregnancy and although yes I am eating nutritional foods I am also eating about 20% crap crap lately. Hubs is getting mcdonalds this morning for breakfast then I am turning this around and going to try to get better. 
Only gained about five pounds so far so I know I am not doing too bad .... I hope not anyways.


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## Rq120

Awe, thanks for all the lovely comments ladies. We did have fun taking the pics. My sis in law took them for us. We are only doing a FB announcement because if we don't do one, someone will announce for us. 

Ellie - When I discussed the blood test vs the NT scan the doc said I could skip the NT scan if I did the blood test. I would have to have the NT scan at a specialist's office and honestly I think it would end up costing MORE than the blood test. Because I am technically AMA (I'll be 35 before my due date), my insurance covered the blood test. So I opted for that instead. 

Fern - Yes we will find out the gender with the test but with twins it will only tell me if it is both girls or at least one boy.
I'm wishing you the best with your OH. I can't imagine what you are going through being pregnant and dealing with all of that. I'll say a prayer for you for strength and peace.

I hope everyone has a good week and feels well.


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## beemeck

back from my trip and so glad to hear all the babies are still doing well!! :happydance::happydance:

fern - I am so, so sorry to hear about your struggles with DH. I can't imagine. :hugs: but you are strong and if you have to, you can do this on your own. hopefully it wont' come to that, but living unhappy and stressed isn't the way to live either. I hope he budges soon. :hugs::hugs::hugs:

so exciting about all of the announcements too! we are having a garden party for our friends and will announce there. I haven't decided about social media yet. I will ask you girls your opinion. I'm very hesitant to announce on facebook, because during my struggle with infertility, it was so hard to see day after day more and more announcements. granted, we don't know what journies it took for everyone to get there, but it just felt like salt in the wound. I don't want to then not learn from that and do the same thing back. I posted a lot about my loss and struggles to conceive, so people will already know, but I thought if I do decide to announce, I'll make sure to include all of the women I've left behind and that their day will come, even though it doesn't feel like it. what was everyone's experience with those announcements while struggling??

My scan is tomorrow and I'm anxious to hear what the cyst is up to! of course I'm pumped to sneak a peek at baby now, who will actually look like a baby!


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## elliecain

I agonised over that too Beemeck, but I have decided I will allow myself one big announcement at 12 weeks and one when the baby arrives. Aside from that, I will back off and keep baby stuff away from social media. I won't be putting any scan pictures at all on Facebook though. They used to kill me, they were the worst possible thing.
Everyone I know knows that it's been a long time coming so I think most people will be over the moon. I have 2 friends who may struggle with the news, so I intend to tell them face to face before I announce.

Rq, I get the NT test on the NHS so it will be free. Considering I've paid for the whole IVF process privately, I'm definitely maxing out my NHS entitlement now! I've kind of made up my mind now that I will do the NT test at 11+3 then pay for Harmony if there is any doubt. The chances are it will be a risk within the normal limits for my age and then I can just relax.


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## Pinkie3

Fern, I am so sorry things are bad at home, it doesn't make sense why he is being so unsupportive and quite frankly very immature. You are carrying his child, he should be wanting to wrap you in cotton wool. I truly hope things turn around and you can put this behind you. Good luck with handing your notice in tomorrow. 

Beemeck, this is one of the main reason I am not announcing on Facebook. Over the years I have seen so many announcements it was like a stab in the heart each time, If I make one person feel what I did then I will be very sad. Also, I think it depends on how much you use social media, I am not a big user of FB anyway so it would be unlike me to make such a big announcement. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against them at all, for anyone, especially the likes of us ladies who want to shout it from the roof tops, make beautiful announcements so they can share with their children in the future then I think it's wonderful. We are all different, it would be a boring world if we wasn't, but we are quite private people and it's just not my style. 

Beemeek, good luck at your scan tomorrow. 

Thanks for everyone's advice on the food intake, you have put my mind at ease and I feel less worried about it now. X


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## Fern81

Thanks again everyone for your understanding and support! Well he is leaving me alone & seems to have moved in downstairs so at least we're not actively fighting right now; even though things are not sorted out, I have some breathing space. He even told me it is selfish of me to try and sort things out because he doesn't feel like it so I shouldn't force him. I can only laugh at that in astonishment. Unfortunately these issues have always been there and gets better, then worse, then better etc. Idk. He has his good points but we did break up a few times before getting married (and was separated for a while in 2014 just a few months after getting married). I think I married him for the wrong reasons but am in it now so I have to cope as best I can. I'm not sorry I'm pregnant though.

Fb announcements- I really get why people like Fb, my mom and sister love it, I'm just a really private person too (I can be anonymous on here that's why I talk so much lol!). So I don't like Facebook but just in the same way some people don't like certain foods. Also Twitter etc. I have no social media except bnb. The few times I've been on fb I've never been saddened by other people's announcements. I mostly feel happy for them, not because I'm a saint lol but because a while back I realised that I would be OK to never have kids if it had proved to be impossible. We weren't going to keep trying past my birthday in November, regardless. So other people's pregnancies mostly put a smile on my face, even on here (and especially in the ltttc forums, but each to his own). Come to think of it, I actually only got frustrated with one ttc lady ever (that was on here), but she was banned from bnb recently for being a cyberbully. Rq if you were my fb friend I would have loved your pics and that you look so radiantly happy.

Beemeck- yay please post a piccie! Hope your cyst is behaving. 

My bump has gone down (!?) but I can still feel my uterus. So I hope that means my bloat is gone and ovary is shrinking.


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## Fern81

Oohh rq I still vote one of each!


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## 2have4kids

Beemack good luck with your next scan. Our big one is Thursday, looking forward to it!!

We didn't announce our 1st with overseas family & fridnds until 31 weeks and did so via fb. Everyone has known our struggle, 6 years of ttc, leaving for Europe to do DE ivf, in 2013, twice I went to Athens in 2 months. It'd been crazy. Then preparing for adoption and the crazy process that entails. You go to another city fir the welcome seminar, then the police & social service background checks, then the personal interviews & home interviews. Then you get pregnant! They tell you to stop trying while going through the process. Ha right! It's too difficult to hide everything so when we finally did get pregnant we didn't announce till we had bump photos done @ 31 weeks and we used fb as it would have been too difficult otherwise. This time it was either announce or my boss would since I had to let work know I'm coming back early. 
We have DD's photos up on a secret page, it allows DH to share with his British family. I don't mind, there's more privacy on secret pages than the usual wall posts. 

Fern, I had a massive blow out with DH and moved out for 2 months with my 1st pregnancy. We'd arranged to go to a mountain group chalet party for the weekend and paid for the room and DH went and booked tickets to visit his brother that sane weekend. So instead of changing his flights, he ditched me. It was booked nearly a year in advance as it was a super nice place and there were ~ 20-30 of us with kids too. I was furious that he lied to me, the bad thing is that he'd done that once before too. That first time he gave me sn hours notice before he took off, he justified it the second time by guving me 24 hours notice. I just think once a liar, always a liar. You can't fix that, it has to do with integrity. We were supposed to announce to friends that weekend since I wouldn't be drinking and they'd be wondering why. It still angers me. But I have my babies and that's all that matters. And he knows as much. He can stay and be a loving father and contributing husband or he can go and send us a cheque in the mail, his choice. So far he's chosen to stay.


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## Rq120

Ellie - that makes total sense. I would go with the same plan also if my NT scan was free.

Honestly, I'm not a huge Facebook-er either. I just use it to keep tabs on family members. My hubby and I even have a joint account because I don't get on it enough to justify my own account. That being said, because our family and friends are so into FB if we don't post an announcement it will be posted inadvertently. Also, I figure with a twin bump people will figure it out eventually.

I also wasn't hugely affected when I saw announcements on FB previously. I sometimes had a moment of sadness when I was struggling and saw an announcement, but I always recognized my journey was mine and they had a different one. I've been blessed in my life in so many different ways, not everything can come easy I guess.


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## Rq120

2have, a secret page makes so much sense. I was wondering the best way to share baby pics with out of state family. Thanks for the idea.


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## Pinkie3

FB never bothered me at first but after a couple of years it started to take its toll. I was always happy for everyone, I would never wish infertility on anyone, but I couldn't help the way it made me feel. I think the emotions of this battle will stay with me forever. 

A secret page is a good idea, I didn't know you could do that. 

I am sorry if this has been done already but does anyone recommend a good pregnancy app?

X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie3 said:


> FB never bothered me at first but after a couple of years it started to take its toll. I was always happy for everyone, I would never wish infertility on anyone, but I couldn't help the way it made me feel. I think the emotions of this battle will stay with me forever.
> 
> A secret page is a good idea, I didn't know you could do that.
> 
> I am sorry if this has been done already but does anyone recommend a good pregnancy app?
> 
> X

I like the what to expect when you're expecting app because it has a video for each week. My "reward" every Friday when I hit a new week is to watch that weeks video.


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## Myshelsong

I have a secret family page that I created a year ago. We add stuff like pictures, party announcements, Christmas lists and other fun things. It is super easy to do and completely secret so only those you add to it can see your stuff and they can post as well. 

We will probably not be doing a public announcement. Although I never felt mad someone on FB announced it really did bring up negative feelings and resentments over the years. I know it is a completely personal decision, but as we now have FB friends that were in our adoption training program, I would feel horrible posting those things like a rub in the face. When we are further along or close to delivery there may be no other choice but to aknowledge the growing bump. But we won't have a big reveal. We will on the family page though!


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## Rq120

Pinkie - I like the baby center app also.


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## 2have4kids

Ohhhh these headaches! I hope getting off the estrogen, prednisone, and progesterone next week helps!


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> Ohhhh these headaches! I hope getting off the estrogen, prednisone, and progesterone next week helps!

2have I'm off all the meds now and I've had the biggest headache today.
Vomitted twice today and feel like crap. I hope tomorrow's a better day.

Froggy, how have you been doing with your headaches?


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca don't tell me that!


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## elliecain

I'm on prednisolone for 12 weeks too! Do you have NK cells too? I've read that the pred can be used to treat morning sickness, so I'm wondering if that's why I've had it fairly easy. I just hope I don't get a massive shock when I stop it and end up with second tri vomiting just when I go back to school!


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## 2have4kids

Maybe that's why I've never had ms. I have a number of immune issues on top of the clotting ones. I had abnormal 'LAD scores' where I react badly to foreign things in my body. I did LIT treatments which were amazing (they are currently trying to work on severe allergiesusing the same concept). And the prednisone is meant to dumb down your immune system.


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## ES89

Hi all, sorry I've not checked in for a while. I had a bit of a scare on Sunday, period cramps and then I bled a little. Other half took me up to A&E, I was examined and had a scan and fortunately everything looks ok. Sadly I was quite far enough along to see "pea" but as you can see from the picture the sac is there. Decided to not go back to work and rest for a while. I've got my scan at the clinic a week Friday so hoping we can see more then. Hope everyone else is ok xxx


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## Myshelsong

Es89- that is scary. Hope you are feeling better, take it easy for a few days if you can.

AFM ... 2nd trimester today!!! Woop woop. Have a Drs appointment today to check weight and stuff ... Who knows what they will end up doing, they are useless.


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## beemeck

thanks for all of the insights on the announcement debate. I go back and forth constantly. honestly, I was lucky not to feel a lot of the jealousy that I heard about on the ltttc boards. I was always able to separate that I don't want YOUR baby anyway, I want my own. and I don't envy your life either, I love mine. however, it just felt more of a "left out" type thing - like it was happening to everyone but me, which made it very isolating. It's probably bc in addition to that, I teach pre natal and post natal education for a living. so I'm around pregnant women and babies all day every day. I work with the low income population, so I see a lot of unwanted babies, abortions, and 25 year olds on their 6th kid. so I think I struggled most with feeling left out and asked myself "why not me?" more times than I can count. so I'm still debating the FB announcement. 

on the other end, they are so darn cute and I thought I couldn't wait until I finally got my turn! But like you myshel, I connected with a lot of women through my fertility yoga class and now would hate to rub that in their faces, since it still is not their turn. sigh. I appreciate all of your input! 

loving the scan pics! can't wait for more! Am I the only one not doing the NT??


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## rebecca822

Myshelsong said:


> Es89- that is scary. Hope you are feeling better, take it easy for a few days if you can.
> 
> AFM ... 2nd trimester today!!! Woop woop. Have a Drs appointment today to check weight and stuff ... Who knows what they will end up doing, they are useless.

Now I'm super confused when second trimester starts. I thought 13 weeks? 
So you are definitely a second trimester expectant mom! Happy14 weeks to you!!


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## Pinkie3

ES89 sorry about the scare I have seen a lot of early pregnancy bleeding so seems quite common. Its still early but you should hopefully see a little flicker on Fri. Good luck.

Beemeck, Wow that is a tough job when you are in our situation. Fair play to you. 

I wouldn't say I ever felt 'Jealous' (that's not a nice trait), Envy is a better word. When you are fighting so hard for something I think its impossible not to feel that. I never felt it on these boards though, it was always different. Announcements are a personal thing and I think you need to do whatever feels right for you, what makes you happy and will bring you joy.

Rebecca, I have been a bit confused about the 2nd trimester too. I have seen more that say 13 weeks so I am gonna go with that I think.

2have, I have read steroids mask morning sickness but hopefully by the time you wean off them the placenta would have taken over and you'll be past that stage anyway.

Ladies, I don't want to get too excited but I had a good day yesterday and so far today is ok too. My sickness has eased off loads, still a way to go but please let this be baby has decided to give me a little break.

X


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## Fern81

Pinkie- just the right time for symptoms to start letting up, hope it keeps going in that direction. 

40 weeks ÷ 3 trimesters = 13weeks, 2 & 1/3days :) (yes I'm a nerd). Some people see 13 weeks as the end of the first tri, some see it as 14 weeks. 

Es- glad all is well!

Have to get back to work. X


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## Myshelsong

I was told it technically was 13w 3d lol but decided to officially get excited once the ticker changed. I know some say 13 some say 14 ... I think it only matters when you feel like the clock has rolled over. For me the "safe" week that was my goal was 14. For no other reason then I decided it awhile back. Getting to 13 was a big week as well, it was past the scary 12 ween mark!


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## froggyfrog

Happy 14 weeks myshel!! 

Es glad everything turned out well!! 

Fern sorry you are having issues with your dh. I hope things can smooth out before the baby. Me and dh don't fight very often. But when we do, it's bad. We are both very stubborn so we don't mix when we are mad lol. 

As far as facebook, i don't have a facebook anymore., but when I did I would feel really sad for myself when I would see pregnancy announcements. For me it was also more of a "left out" feeling. So many of my friends were having babies, number one and two and I wasn't sure that we would ever be able to do ivf at that point. 

Rebecca, thanks for asking. They aren't as often now, but I definitely still get them. I have a follow up from the emergency room with a neurologist next monday.


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## rebecca822

I'm going with 13 which is on Friday. I can't wait!

Another 3 1/2 weeks till my next scan. I'm already getting anxious!!

Anyone except froggy felt their baby kicking?


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## Fern81

2have - so sorry that you are still suffering. I think stopping the meds will put an end to your headaches. And thanks for sharing the story about your husband. I agree; they don't really change. They just have to try and make better choices. 

Froggy at the same time I'm happy for your sake that your headaches are clearing up.

I think I've been feeling the baby move for a few days but it could just be wishful thinking. I've felt soft "bubbles"(don't know how to explain but it feels like how your cheek would feel, when you touch the inside with the tip of your finger). Maybe it's nothing, it's still very early after all, but I've felt it about 3 or 4 times and hope it's baby :).


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## Rq120

ES - You might want to modify your US pic to cut out your name!!! You are safe among this group, but this is still a public forum and you never know what other people might do with your info. It's a sad world our there sometimes. 

Speaking of, have you ladies ever see an article on pregophilla (or something like that). It's an awful website where people take photos of random strangers they see in a store or coworkers and post it on this site. Kinda porn like. I read an article in the last month where a woman posted her belly on FB and it was stolen by a FB "friend" and posted on this site. Just awful! Some people in this world are just so strange....

Beemeck - I'm also not getting the NT scan. Just the Maternit21 test. I'm hoping they call me with results tomorrow. 

2have - I'm sorry to share but I have a mild headache most nights and I've been off the hormones for 3 weeks. But happily, it is only mild. I hope they get better for you.

Rebecca - Yay for 13 weeks. I hit my week marker on Sundays. Just a few days behind you.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - Whoops! I'm already 13 weeks. Doh!! I guess that goes to show you how much I'm paying attention. lol


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## Prayingforno1

Rq120-Lovely pictures-very nice pregnancy announcement

Beemeck-Your garden party idea sounds great. I am not announcing on Facebook but for different reason. I'm just a bit more private and the people who are important to me will be told personally so no need to make an announcement online.

Fern-So sorry to hear you have not been well. I hope you feel better.

Pinkie-I have a few apps on my phone but my fave is Ovia pregnancy check it out.

2have4kids-I hope your headaches get better/disappear when you are off your support meds

Myshelsong-congrats on 2nd trimester!!

froggyfrog-sorry to hear you are still having headaches. Hopefully the neurologist will be able to point you in the right direction

Sorry if I missed anyone but I tried reading through to catch up on all your updates.

Well for me I had a pretty uneventful weekend. Chilled out the full weekend. MS is easing but I still get hit with it sometimes. I had my scan on Friday and our bean would not keep still kept moving and giving the doctor a hard time to get the heartbeat. It was so amazing. Every scan when we get to see more development and growth it just amazes me. Next scan in 3 weeks!


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## Rq120

Praying - that is so much fun. Our last US I had just eaten lunch and our little beans were jumping all over the place. It was amazing to watch.


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## beemeck

Hi girls - all was fine with baby today! Moving around and heart rate was 173. Looks great ! I'll update with pic tomorrow. However cyst grew 3 cm and we will now be moving forward with surgery. I'll get more details soon. Ugh!


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## rebecca822

Beemeck sorry to hear about the surgery but glad your baby is doing well.


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## 2have4kids

Beemack, fantastic news about baby but boy that's a fast growing cyst! Wishing you a pain free, uneventful removal.

Fern you're probably right about baby. I bet those are small movements you're feeling. Exciting hey?

ES I had lots of bleeding, sch's are quite common and they can often see tgem on thr scan. When I had the bleeding at first the us tech didn't say she saw any sch bleeds. Then the second time I bled profuselyI went to the ER and a few days later thr scan tech showed me the sch's, where they were and that they weren't attached to the placentas. When you bleed you're mesnt to get horizontal, lying down doesn't allow gravity to help continue the bleeding. I've mc'd a few times so youcan imagine, it freaked me out. Try to stay calm, it happens with healthy pregnancies alot.

RQ that website sounds positively horrible!

Praying, glad to hear your scan went well on Friday.

Ellie, Froggy, & Nimbac how are you ladies?

Rebecca & Myshelsong congrats on second tri.

Pinkie, glad to hear you're better, hope it stays that way!

It's 1:30am and my head is splitting! I'm weaning off all of the drugs this week. I never get headaches, this is positively horrible. Tylenol won't touch them!


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## Prayingforno1

beemeck-Glad to hear your baby is ok but sorry to hear your cyst is growing so fast. Hoping you have a smooth removal process. When do you expect to have the procedure?

2have-so sorry you're having such bad headaches. Do you think it's related to coming off your support meds? If it gets really bad you may want to call or pop into your doctor.


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies,

Thankfully I haven't had sleep trouble in almost a week.
My nausea is lifting as I don't feel sick all day long. Now it comes and goes. Last night I felt sick and threw up but it doesn't happen as often anymore.
I'm so anxious for my next scan in 3 weeks. I'm debating if I should go for a scan sooner. My insurance covers at 100% so it really costs nothing and will ease my mind. I just don't want to be that crazy lady :)
2have, sorry about your headaches try taking Tylenol and drinking caffeine it may help.


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## beemeck

gah, docs called today. they are going to wait until I'm further along to do anything and hope disaster doesn't strike in the meantime. I'm on pelvic rest as well as no lifting anything and trying not to bend. I'm also not supposed to let my bladder get full as pushing against my cyst may cause it to twist. I told them that I didn't want to lose my ovary and they said honestly I will prob lose both the ovary and tube. I'm so devastated, but trying to hang on to the fact that baby is okay and will hopefully stay okay. hanging out now for three weeks before they will take any action. :cry: sorry it's all me, me, me I'm just in a bad place right now and my mind is all over.


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## Fern81

Rebecca if I had your insurance I would be going in weekly lol! 

Nice to hear that most of you who are suffering with some unpleasant symptoms are starting to feel better. 2have I just hope for your sake that your headaches start subsiding soon. Maybe you should call your dr? It can't be good for you or baby to feel that horrible all the time and to struggle to sleep?

Beemeck- I'm so sorry to hear about that ridiculous cyst! Please keep us updated hun. Good news that baby is doing so good.

Aww praying it's so cool your baby is so active :).

Rq- no I haven't seen that! We don't have a huge "insert anything weird here"-philia culture in RSA (if we do I don't know about it lol) so I don't think it's a problem here. But it's super creepy and disturbing especially because it's non-consentual. :(

I had such a nice day (well, until H came home!). It's voting day here and I took a half day off to go vote. Well as I got into the looooong que, groups of people in front of me told me "lady, you are pregnant right? So you are allowed to go to the front of the que". I got assisted immediately like I was 9 months preggies! Done in 5 min yay! Gotta love the bump, even though it's deflated a bit lol!


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## Fern81

Oh my goodness Bee we cross-posted... sheez sorry, that totally sucks! I hope and pray you can keep your ovary and tube. Please take care hun. Xx


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## Myshelsong

beemeck said:


> I told them that I didn't want to lose my ovary and they said honestly I will prob lose both the ovary and tube. I'm so devastated, but trying to hang on to the fact that baby is okay and will hopefully stay okay. hanging out now for three weeks before they will take any action. :cry: sorry it's all me, me, me I'm just in a bad place right now and my mind is all over.

Omg Hun I am so sorry. I hope that this is over soon for you. Hoping that the tube and ovary can be saved. 

Praying sounds like a relaxing weekend.

Rebecca yay for subsiding ms

2have hope the headaches subside soon

Sorry if i am missing people

AFM doctors appointment consisted of weight and blood pressure lol. Another appointment in 4 weeks then we have our 18 week anatomy scan. Feeling really good, although still tired in the afternoons, always hungry, super thirst and having trouble sleeping at night. So no issues at all really. Not complaining, this is way better than what I expected or heard about. Just going to enjoy it while it lasts.


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## rebecca822

Bee that's really tough so sorry to hear. Rest up and don't overdo it.

Fern- you go girl and your baby bump. At Nordstrom (a department store) they have expectant mom parking. Now I can finally park there!! 

Myshel- so happy your feeling better and that everything was good at the doctor. Did they listen to baby on the Doppler?

You're right I really should just get a scan. Why the hell not?


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## Myshelsong

Nope, no Doppler.... Thinking of buying one. Anyone have a suggestion on a brand?


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## Prayingforno1

beemeck:hugs::hugs::hugs: so sorry you are going through all of this. Rest up and try to take it easy


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## froggyfrog

I have a sonoline b and love it. I have been able to find him since 9 weeks. 

Beemeck, I'm so sorry. I hope they are able to remove the cyst without having to remove anything else. Please take it way easy. :hugs: 

We are heading to a maternity expo next weekend and I'm really excited. It's also my birthday weekend. I signed up to have a 4d ultrasound at the expo. My mom is flying in to meet us at the expo so she will get to see the baby on the ultrasound so that will be really cool!

Fern, I would definitely say it's baby. I think I felt the baby again the other night. It felt like bubbles. It could have been gas but it was in the same place I find his hearbeat!


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## 2have4kids

Beemack why are they waiting, if it bursts it's going to hurt and wouldn't that be a danger to you? You'd think the longer they leave it, at the rate it's growing it compromises your bits even more. Sending you hugs and fx for best possible outcomes!

Fern there are definite perks to having a bump! I darn't park in the pregnant or parents with child spot until I have a good size bump on me but looking forward to that day!

Myshelsong I got a Sonoline B doppler a few years ago brand new off ebay for $30. They're usually much more expensive but it works great.

Hi to everyone else :wave:

Well by this time tomorrow we'll be looking at the babies in detail with the 12 week scan. And then Friday I see my doctor and will ask her about my headaches. Yesterday I actually woke up and went to bed with a headache, today no headache so far knock on wood! We're dropping DD with grandma today and zneaking off to see the new Star Trek movie. I'm SO excited! And then off to the best chicken wing place in town. Ahhhh the small things that make life wonderful :bunny::dance:


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## Pinkie3

Beemeck, I am so sorry. I remember waking up from surgery and being told that both my tubes had to be removed, I was devastated so I can completely understand how you are feeling right now. I truly hope it doesn't come to that, take the doctors advice and make sure you rest.

Myshelsong, glad pregnancy is going well and you are feeling good, definitely enjoy it. Glad everyone else's MS is starting to ease. 

2have, sorry about the headaches, I have been suffering with them on and off for a few weeks too so feeling your pain (although I don't have a LO to look after as well). I spoke too soon about mine, didn't have a great day and had to cut my shopping trip short today as my head was pounding, came home and slept for two hours. I have read it's hormone related, things are probably trying to balance out. I find keeping my feet warm and putting a warm compress on my head helps, something to do with blood flow. 

I hope everyone else is doing well :flower:


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## Rq120

Beemeck - sorry to hear about your cyst. I hope everything goes well for you and "disaster doesn't strike".

Just in case anyone is interested, here is a link to that article. There were a bunch of articles written on it from a lot of different sources.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/p...e/news-story/b01307a148019c1b90f4a5b9f132e3c7


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## beemeck

they are waiting as it's safer for baby. the doc mentioned losing the baby doing it too early or damage to the internal organs that are still forming. the cyst bursting believe it or not is best case scenario. it will not cause a problem - only hurt like hell! twisting is a danger because it will require emergency surgery which isn't good for pregnancy - they like everything to be planned and monitored. so the con of waiting is that happening but the con of too soon is the loss of the baby and I guess that has a higher chance of happening than the twisting.


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## Pinkie3

We crossed posts. 2have, enjoy your date night and best of luck for tomorrow, enjoy seeing your little ones.

Fern/froggy, how wonderful that you are feeling baby. I cannot wait to get to this stage.


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## Fern81

Rq- that article is suuuuper disturbing!! Added to the preggophilia, the info at the end about people stealing baby pics and playing a game with them, wth!? Thanks for sharing, though. It has just made me a lot more vigilant. Are you in Australia? (Sorry if it's in your info section, I'm on my phone and it doesn't show :) )

Bee- makes sense but it still sucks. Hope time flies by and nothing bad happens. You are in my prayers lady. Xxx 

2have - hope you have a lovely scan tomorrow and that all you hear/see is good news. Stay away headache!

Aww pinkie, fx your hormone levels are stabilizing and the dumb headaches go away again!

Looks like H and I'm separated for now, we're "apparently" going to get into counselling but I'll believe that when I see it (he always has a million excuses; in 5 years that I've wanted counselling he's never gone with me). He moved his stuff into a downstairs bedroom. I wish he would move out (actually I wish we could make up but it's impossible at this stage). If I could afford it and if my family NEVER had to find out, I would move out. It's extremely unpleasant when he's around and I'm worried that the baby will develop a depression or anxiety disorder. Well I suppose I have to do more to stay out of his way! I keep trying to talk to him. Looks like I'm not the world's fastest learner :/.


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so sorry for you honey! This is supposed to be a special time and instead your dealing with all this. Wishing you all the strength to get through your marriage difficulties.


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## froggyfrog

I'm sorry fern, right now isn't the time for this to be happening. I really hope you can get into counselling and work things out.


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## nimbec

Hi ladies just a quick post sorry I'm up to my eyes in work as I've been away so long &#128584;

Fern I'm so so sorry it has come to this, maybe you could book counselling and give him the date...now or never type of thing? I'm not sure how things work with your country but I'm sure their would be financial help available if you moved out...would your family not be supportive? Surely your emotional wellbeing should be forefront of their concern? (((Hugs)))

Bee I'm so sorry what a nightmare for you fx it all goes well!! 

2have so exciting hope you have a super day seeing your babies! 

Hi to everyone else sorry it's a flying visit! 

I'm ok on the mend very slowly!


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## Rq120

Fern - Yeah, the article is super disturbing and it makes you think about what you are sharing with the world. That is why I mentioned ES should edit the US pic with her name on it. I thought it might be helpful to share with the group. 
To answer your question, I'm from the United States. I just used the UK article because there were a bunch of them and that one was the first complete one I found.

Sorry to hear about you and your hubby. I hope everything works out for the best, whatever "the best" may be for you. I'm sorry that you have to go through this stress and anguish, especially when you are pregnant. You should be treated like a goddess and be able to enjoy every moment of your pregnancy. My hubby rubs my belly every night and it is so special to me. It almost makes me cry that your are missing that connection when it matters most. :hugs:


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## Myshelsong

Fern, I hope that if he doesn't end up going to counselling with you, that you will chose to go yourself. It is very very helpful on a personal and emotional level. It will let you get things off your chest, give you some clarity and hopefully will help open up some options for you. I know it sucks since you don't want to tell family, but is there someone close you can confide in? Maybe a good friend or even a sibling that will keep your confidence?

Just ordered the sonoline b .... Ahh so excited! Just don't tell my hubs yet lol.

Nimbec glad you are still on the mend, even if it is slowly. Hopefully everyday will be better!


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## 2have4kids

Fern I agree with Myshelsong, I've done counselling by myself and it helped me stop stressing so much over his behaviours and I stopped inadvertently feeding the fighting. We reconciled and had a stronger relationship which wasn't what I expected but a new perspective helped me immensely. 

Myshelsong have fun with the doppler but don't stress if you can't find baby. I had s midwife for the first 6 months of my pregnancy last year and even they had a hard time finding it sometimes. 

Had another headache tonight. But was good most of the day so that was great. Dropped DD with Grandma and saw the new Star Trek. It was SO nice but I had a hard time keeping my eyes open, the sleep deprivation almost caught me. Then we went for wings at this awesome wings place, my fav ever. I had dill pickle & salt n' pepper, DH chose cajun. Yum, they were all soo good! I've been craving wings from that place for months. There was a line up to get in but since we were only 2 and everyone else had big parties we got whipped in and seated right away whew! I always hated wings before I went to this place... now I dream about their wings regularly :haha:


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## Fern81

2have - you have me craving wings now!! I could gladly have an all you can eat wings buffet right now.

The husband saga... he wants to start sorting things out apparently but there are many communication issues etc, I still would prefer counselling. Otherwise the problems aren't going to go away. And I'm going to use your advice and enquire about counselling for myself if he keeps on refusing. Our church offers counselling, which I'd prefer over a psychologist, so it's nice to have that option to explore. Thanks again for concrete advice ladies, someone mentioned the love languages book a few months ago when we were also (still) having issues; he agreed to work through the book with me. At least he is finally willing to do something. 

Myshel- ahhh I read your post earlier and it convinced me to try and get my own doppler hehe! So I found a second hand one for sale by a lady not too far from me, still with its packaging and ultrasound gel so I contacted her and hoping to get it!

Nimbec- glad you're doing better!! When is your next scan? Gl at work. X

Bee- are you doing OK today? Thinking of you hun.


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## Rq120

Fern - Yes, I LOVE the Five Love Languages book. Hubby and I got it via audio book and listened to it together whenever we were riding in the car together.


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## rebecca822

I bought the 5 languages of love book a while ago. Never actually ready it tho.

I'm dying to get a Doppler too but I'm worried about finding both babies heartbeats. I'm starting to get anxious and I made an appointment for a week from today for an ultrasound but I'm not sure I can wait that long!
2have- I used to love wings but since I'm pregnant I've totally gone vegetarian I can not stomach any meats/fish/chicken.
Sounds like you had a great time and I'm glad you satisfied your craving.


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## Pinkie3

Fern, I am so sorry it has come to this and I hope you can work through your difficulties. I agree counselling even on your own is a great idea, I had this last year for the first time and it was a massive help to me (my was grief related) it doesn't take away the pain of what is happening but it helps you learn how to cope good luck with everything. 

Rebecca, take all the scans you can get, I would definitely have one once a week if I could. 

2have, glad you had a great time last night. How did you get on at your scan today? I am also interested to hear what advice they gave you for your headaches? I have been in bed for the last two days trying to shift mine, I will call midwife tomorrow if I have no improvement. 

Enjoy your Dopplers ladies, let me know how you get on with them as I am still undecided if to get one.

Hope everyone is having a good day X


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## 2have4kids

Ok, so I was getting leg cramps too and started taking some magnesium in my tea the past few evenings and my headaches have been less and less during the days starting later and later into the evenings. I don't have the leg cramps now either. Mag is a common deficiency in pregnant women and helps sooth the muscles and nervous system. It can especially be low when we drink alot of water in the summer (which I've been doing). Totally cures constipation, not that I have sn issue in this regard (just don't take more than the recommended dose or you'll go the other way lol), calms raw nerves (oh the fussing when DD refuses to sleep), and thsnkfully my leg muscle cramps are gone! Feeling better today. 

Has my 12 week scan today and absolutely no chance if Trisomy/Downs. They measure a few days ahead and heartbeats were 168 and 163. Babies will be born healthy ~ Feb 16! I forgot to pick up the CD with the photos. Not sure I'll go back to collect it. Not really into that stuff. My main concern is healthy babies and that we are now assured of:dance:

Sorry for the me me me post, have yo go ckean the car and will be back to chat later xx


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## rebecca822

2have that's great that the babies are doing well and they are healthy!

I'm having a bit of heartburn but otherwise feeling pretty decent (knock on wood).
Going out with friends and their kids for pizza. Love easy suppers


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> 2have that's great that the babies are doing well and they are healthy!
> 
> I'm having a bit of heartburn but otherwise feeling pretty decent (knock on wood).
> Going out with friends and their kids for pizza. Love easy suppers

Oh I <3 eating out. Have fun Rebecca!


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## Myshelsong

Glad your scan went well 2have. The movie and wings sounded wonderful, so hungry again now. I heard of the mag tea before but never tried it. Sounds interesting.

rebecca have a great dinner! Sounds like a nice night. Good luck on thr next scan, I am still in awe they will even let you book that many. Super lucky. I wouldn't get a Doppler with two in there though, it would be way to confusing and frustrating I would think. 

Fern, the love language books are a really good read. I highly recommend them.
I am glad that I have a Doppler buddy, let me know how it goes and if anyone does have one let us know how you work it lol. What works for you or tips and tricks would be great.

Went over to the parents today, had a warm swim, ate some Chinese food and now waiting for my brother to come over. He is staying with us for a few days while he is back in town. Ugh I have to clean my house! But today was really good and relaxing for sure.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong said:


> Glad your scan went well 2have. The movie and wings sounded wonderful, so hungry again now. I heard of the mag tea before but never tried it. Sounds interesting.

It's a fizzy powder that you put 1/2 tsp in any hot liquid to dissolve. 
https://www.communitynaturalfoods.com/products/natural-calm-magnesium-226g


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## froggyfrog

I really don't think the doppler with twins would be hard, I find him every time in just about the same spot, so I would think you could separate the twins. Myshel, start in the middle, closer to your public bone and move out to each side. Gage is sitting just right from the middle. And if you don't find your baby that low, move up just a bit and do the same thing. Don't stray away from one spot too easily, try at all angles before moving the wand because I'll have his heartbeat, and it will disappear so I change angles and find him again. They are moving around so much that it's not always a solid heartbeat, you have to kind of chase them around. There are a ton on YouTube videos that help too. Just type in "sonoline b __weeks" and there will be videos showing you the best tips.


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## rebecca822

Myshel- swimming sounds really nice right about now. We usually go to my in laws pool on weekends. My daughter loves the pool! I bought her these floats called puddle jumpers and she can swim without holding on. I stay close by but she's really getting good at it.

Froggy you're right that the babies kind of hang out in the same spot. The twins are pretty seperate and usually each in their own little corner. 

I forgot to tell you guys, last week at the OB the tech thought it was two girls not two boys. Wouldn't that be funny?! By next week I'll know a bit more definitively. Gosh, now we need to think of girls names! So far 1 name I like is Bell. I'm not choosing names until 16 weeks when we really know what we're having.


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## Pinkie3

2have, congrats on the 12 weeks scan and nuchal results. Glad the babies are doing great. Thanks for the info on mag tea, I will have a look into that. Thankfully my headache seems to have gone this morning, let's hope it stays away. 

Myshel, what I would give to jump in a pool right now. Sounds wonderful.

I am so jealous you are all going out to eat food, it's one of my favourite things to do!

Rebecca, I hope you get the genders confirmed soon. We've had our girls name for years but cannot find one boys name that we both really like, it's so difficult. 

I am going to try and make the most of feeling half human today and get out in the garden. Have a good day all :flower:


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## Rq120

Hi all, how is everyone today? I've had a whirlwind of a day so far and it's still early. Problems, problems, and more problems at work. Some involving lawyers. I'll be glad when this day is over and I can take a few mental days off from it all. 

Our friends brought over their 2 year old boxer last night. They are going to take a weekend trip and we will watch him until Monday afternoon. We have 2 dogs ourselves and they get along great. Well last night, he went on a destructive rampage. He tore up a wicker basket (that had been in the same place his whole life and he has spent MANY nights at our house) and there were wicker bits ALL over the stairs and littering our whole living room floor. He also chewed up coasters and a few other things. Thankfully nothing really important. He also peed and pooped on the floor and he knows better and can control his bladder/bowels for a long time. This is what I got to wake up too. Hubby did an awesome job cleaning before I got up, but there is only so much you can get done before you have to leave for work. The little guy just bought himself 3 nights in the kennel since we can't trust him. 

Last night I was laying on the bed and hubby and I were feeling my stomach. It was the funniest thing because at first Hubby was like "wow they are really on your left side tonight" (big hard ball) and then a few mins later they were definitely on the right hand side. I guess my uterus was going left and right and they were in different spots at different times. We were laughing and wondering if maybe they were rocking and rolling in there, because I wasn't really shifting MY body position. Either way it made us laugh.


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## Rq120

2Have - I'm really happy you got a great result from the NT scan!


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## rebecca822

Rq sounds horrible to wake up to that mess. You're nice to agree to watch someone else's dog. I'm not that nice :)

I feel my tummy hard pretty much from the naval down. I really can't feel the babies tho


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## Fern81

2have - congrats with your fantastic results! 

Pinkie- it seems like your first tri symptoms are hopefully really subsiding. Fx.

Myshel- I ended up not getting that doppler. Another lady enquired before I did and she ended up buying it. However, H said tonight that he would like to get one. So maybe we will look at others. It's easy to re-sell as second hand, too. Enjoy yours!

Rq- aaww shame lucky you have such a lot of patience! Glad the doggy didn't do more damage. I miss having dogs but just can't handle a pup right now. And I loved the twins rocking& rolling story. :)


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## Fern81

Hi everyone else xx


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## Rq120

Rebecca - my uterus is right about my belly button too. It usually sits in the middle but was on the left and then right sides last night. You could definitely feel a hard ball on one side and the other side was softer then it switched sides. I can't feel the babies, just the uterus. We were joking that the babies really had to be rocking and rolling in there to get my uterus to move so much.

Also last night I was SUPER bloated and I could feel a lot of pulling lower in my belly. I don't know why I was especially bloated but it felt awful. I couldn't even drink my belly felt so full.


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## Fern81

Rebecca- you sound just as happy with twin girls :) it will be interesting to find out if the doctors were right about both yours and mine!

By the way rq have you heard anything about your blood tests?


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## Rq120

Fern - No! I haven't heard anything. They said 2 weeks, so I'm just trying to be patient. I was hoping I would hear something Wednesday because A LOT of people said they heard after 6 business days but not a peep from the doc's office yet. I'm anxious because I want to know they are healthy and I want a peek at what the genders may be.


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## rebecca822

Fern81 said:


> Rebecca- you sound just as happy with twin girls :) it will be interesting to find out if the doctors were right about both yours and mine!
> 
> By the way rq have you heard anything about your blood tests?

I kind of wanted at least 1 boy in my family so I'm a twinge disappointed but if they're anything like my daughter I'm really going to be thrilled because she is the most adorable and easy going kid around.


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## Fern81

Booo rq it sucks to wait :) I'm convinced they are perfectly healthy but also curious to find out about the genders. X hope you hear all the good news soon!

Rebecca - aww it's still early and one or both could well be a boy. With hormone surges & swelling/deflating, techs definitely can't be certain now. I'm waiting for 31 aug to find out for sure. 25 more sleeps!! 

Is anyone else an Olympic games junkie? I tried to stay up for the opening ceremony at 1am our time last night but the belly wouldn't let me!


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## 2have4kids

Ugggg I'm up @ 4am for the midnight dream feed for DD and started reading FB getting back to sleep when I read about those 18 mnth old Atlanta twins who died in a truck when their dad forgot to take them out at 32 degrees C. Do you think I can sleep now? Can't stop blubbering the poor wee angels. Why are people so incredibly stupid? The father was napping inside the house. :grr: if I were the wife the police would have a first degree murder on their hands.:cry::cry::cry:
Makes me sick to my stomach.


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## Myshelsong

I'm watching the olympics right now!

Ok so I have to vent a bit. So we are starting to tell people and even some that we have already told have said the same thing. Is this a "natural" miracle pregnancy.... Even Hubs mom asked it, like it wasn't exciting enough if if wasn't something we couldn't do by ourselves. Not everyone has said it, but my friend said it last night and I got really upset about it. I ended up going no, it wasn't a miracle, it was through lots of fertility treatments, lots of money and lots of prayers. We are never going to be able to conceive naturally, like ever. That is just not in our cards, but it doesn't matter because we are pregnant and it is exciting regardless. 

Has anyone else experienced this?


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## Pinkie3

2have, omg, that is horrendous. I just can't get my head around how anyone would think it was ok to leave babies in the car. Those poor poor babies, how would a mother ever get over that. So upsetting. 
It happens a lot here in the UK with dogs, Even though it's always well advertised when we have hot weather not to leave pets in a hot car. Some people are so stupid. We also had an incident a few weeks back when a women left her child in her car seat on the hottest day of the year while she went into a clothes store, thankfully someone noticed the child and after waiting a while to make sure the mother was coming back she called the police. She should have been arrested. Just baffles me!

Myshel, yes I have experienced this. Drives me mad but I have to let these things go over my head because I have found that no one seems to say the right thing. I don't think anyone means any harm or would intentionally want to upset you, I just think people find the whole 'infertility' thing a little uncomfortable. It doesn't excuse it and I wish people wouldn't bother saying anything but they do. Unless you have ever been through this journey you have no idea what is the right or wrong thing to say. When I told my friend our news a few weeks ago she said to make sure we start trying again as soon as I've had this one because that's when you are most fertile. Of course I know that but she clearly forgot about the part that I had both my tubes removed 6 months ago so a natural conception is impossible. As far as I am concerned, yes these babies are little miracles, miracles made with Love and a little science.


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## Fern81

2have - oh how horrible. How do you forget about your twins!? That is the most irresponsible and uncaring father. Yes I would definitely murder him had I been the wife... I think I would have gone mad. How incredibly sad. :(

Myshel- I love that while I never watch sports, every 4 years I turn into a gymnastics & archery & handball & synchronized swimming etc etc superfan lol!! 
No, no-one has asked us how this LO was conceived. However: if someone asks me if it is a miracle baby I would say yes! It's a baby conceived in love (making a baby in a lab was no less an act of love for me than having sex), wanting to have a family (very natural), no doctor in the world can force the MIRACLE of DNA fusing together or an embryo implanting and sharing a body with a mommy or surro mommy... yes we needed medical assistance but a person who lost a leg and is able to walk again with a prosthesis is no less of a miracle. Almost everyone in the world gets medical assistance in some form during their lifetime. It has in fact, become "natural". Our babies are miracles. End of story. Sorry for anyone who thinks otherwise!


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## froggyfrog

Oh my myshel, that would make me mad too. Most of the people I know already knew we did ivf so I haven't gotten that question. I would be upset too. Your reply back should be "it might not have been "natural " but it's still a miracle" because it is still a miracle! If you think about how every step through the process had to go just right in order to conceive, it's amazing!! I'm sorry people don't think before they speak. 

2have, I'm in atlanta. It actually happens here in the us a lot, in don't know if it happens anywhere else like it does here. They call it forgotten baby syndrome. I personally don't understand it, but apparently it happens most when there is a change in routine. They are starting to make devices to alert a parent if there is a baby in the backseat. It's horrible, and I couldn't imagine how that mother, or father felt. I don't think he did it on purpose because when he woke up from his nap he immediately realized that he forgot them and tried to revive them.


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## Fern81

Forgotten baby syndrome? I didn't know that was a thing?? It doesn't often happen here at all. :(


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong, my 'friend' who's really more of a selfish cow said sonething. She knows we've done countless ivf's and were on the adotion list last year. She said see, if you just let your hair doen and enjoy sex. I quickly corrected her and said that anything we do to havr kids is well planned out, is using the best medical technology, and has nothing to do with me letting my hair down, etc. my mom said she's making out that I'm so high strung that I don't enjoy it and I should de-friend her. I'm trying to, slowly.

I think that forgotten child 'syndrome' is balogne. They've got a syndrome for everything in the States so they can treat it medically or justify it in court. This guy had alcohol in his blood, they just don't know how much. I know he tried to revive them but I just can't imagine the situation. I'm very unforgiving when it comes to parents who don't take care of their kids. We try SO hard to have them and others get them SO easily and abuse their priveledge :nope::grr:


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## froggyfrog

I do agree that what he did is unforgivable, it's absolutely horrible. I couldn't imagine dying that horrific death, and those poor babies had no idea what was happeneing. It happens way too often. I'm sure he will go to prison, and have to live every day with the fact that he made a mistake so huge that he killed his own babies. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. There is another man on trial right now for intentionally leaving his son in a hot car. They are saying that he was having an affair and wanted to leave his wife so he purposely left their son in the car while he went into work. 

Pinkie I think leaving a dog is horrible as well. I'm a huge dog lover, and they are just as innocent as kids, and rely on us to keep them safe.


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## 2have4kids

Froggy I agree with everything you said, pets & kids are innocent and rely on us to keep them safe. The criminal penalties should be the same for each.


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## Myshelsong

Groggy I know which one you are talking about! They said he even researched about how long it would take on his home computer and everything, makes me want to cry.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong said:


> Groggy I know which one you are talking about! They said he even researched about how long it would take on his home computer and everything, makes me want to cry.

All for an affair, murder in the first is either life or death row depending on what State he resides in. I have shed tears over all this today, it makes me so sad, I look at MacKinley and just couldn't imagine. How can people be so horrible?:cry:


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## rebecca822

That's just a horrible horrible story!! 
Lots of people leave their pocket book in the back seat so they remember to take their baby out. Or a dad should put on of his shoes in the back next to the baby. Just horrible to think about what that family is going through.
So sad


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## 2have4kids

Ok ladies, it took 3 doses of magnesium and I've had 3 clear days completely free of headaches. I asked my doctor snd she said with the higher hormones in our body potassium and magnesium are going to be really great calming supplements. I was getting cramping calves and feet while sleeping and those are gone too. If you're getting headaches, try magnesium! Did you know magnesium is also in IV bags? I thought it was just saline.


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## Pinkie3

Great news 2have, my headaches have been better although I have one today. DH left me sleeping in this morning and I think I had too much sleep. Hoping a walk later will clear it. 

Ladies, does anyone have a pregnancy belly yet? I am 14 weeks today and apart from my MS I don't feel prergnant at all. Below my naval feels hard, more so as the day goes on, I thought it would start to rise above the pelvis about now? I do carry a little weight in the middle so I wonder if it was completely flat I'd be able to see something by now. From what I am reading it's anywhere between 12-16 weeks, I cannot wait to have a proper pregnant belly.


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## elliecain

I'm still swollen from the 5 months of clomid followed by stims and now prednisolone bloat so I already look 6 months pregnant unless I hold it in. It's horrible right now, I can't wait to get an actual bump!!!


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## Fern81

My tummy has been very swollen from the start, same reasons as Ellie's and I've also been having bloating & abdominal fat issues for a few years. The rest of my body is small so my tummy looks really big & round! Also, since a few weeks ago I've been able to clearly feel my uterus poking out above my pubic bone. My tummy had deflated a bit a week ago but is round and proud again lol! (Luckily just my tummy so far.)

So yeah I look very pregnant.


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## rebecca822

For me every day is different. Today I look bloated and some days I look flat. Never really looked pregnant except 1 or 2 times when I was really constipated


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## Myshelsong

I have a lot of tummy fat. The last few years has not been good to me and my scale. But I will be happy when it is finally noticeable and not just lumpy. Lol

Omg battling the headache from hell for two days now. Took some calcium magnesium so I get both the calcium and mag but it is not touching it. Tried a regular Tylenol and still nothing. Hoping it just goes away soon, I hate headaches.


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## Pinkie3

Myshel, try a cup of coffee, I am not a lover of it and avoiding caffeine but it's worked twice for me now.


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## 2have4kids

Keep up with the mag for at least 3 days and try some coconut water too. Hope you feel better soon Myshelsong!

How's eveveryone doing this weekend? I'm def getting GD if not full blown already. Get a rotty taste in my mouth after carby food, couldn't even think about eating ice cream, my granola tasted horrible the other day, fruit even leaves me wanting to brush my teeth. Made chicken drumsticks last night with zucchini baked fries. I think it'll be hard for me to gain weight again with how aweful everything is tasting, I was SO annoyed last pregnancy with my lack of options with my aversions. 

We're just on a walk right now & baby has fallen asleep.


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## rebecca822

2have she is so precious!l and cozy!!

Myshel- I've also had a headache the last 2 days. I'm really not into taking medicine but yesterday morning I took Tylenol which temporarily relieved my headache. Then again in the late afternoon I took more Tylenol. The same thing happened today. I woke up with a splitting headache and took Tylenol and now it's back!! I really don't want to take more drugs!


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## rebecca822

Hey question for everyone.

Who plans on breastfeeding?

I got a terrible breast infection and only was able to nurse DD for 4 weeks. I'm so nervous about the thought of nursing twins but I really want to.

What are you ladies planning on doing?


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## 2have4kids

Oh yes, I have a fantastic breast pump to help me too...the Spectra S2 super fast, very quiet and with a night light. It really helped keep my milk up & avoided blockages with MacKinley. She self weaned at 6 months becsuse she was doing both bottle & breast the whole time. She thought the bottle was easier & faster. I shed a tear when she was finished with me!


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> Oh yes, I have a fantastic breast pump to help me too...the Spectra S2 super fast, very quiet and with a night light. It really helped keep my milk up & avoided blockages with MacKinley. She self weaned at 6 months becsuse she was doing both bottle & breast the whole time. She thought the bottle was easier & faster. I shed a tear when she was finished with me!

I had a Madela. How does that compare with the spectra? 
I'm thinking of only pumping and no nursing since I don't think there's enough hours in the day...


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## 2have4kids

https://m.babygearlab.com/Breast-Pump-Reviews
This pretty much sums up why I bought a Spectra baby pump over the Medella. On ebay I git mine brand new for $82 when they normally retail for $350. It's super easy to clean, you only need to pop the cups & bottles in the steamer, everything else is a closed system & doesn't get dirty. Also I bought a hands free bra off ebay too, I'd hate to sit there for 1/2 hour and have to hold the cups.


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## elliecain

I really want to breastfeed if I can. I'm taking 9-12 months of maternity leave (depending on money) and I'd like to do breastmilk only for 6 months then wean by the time I go back to work. I totally get that some mums want to breastfeed for years, but it's not my thing. Seeing a 2 year old still breastfeeding makes me feel a bit uncomfortable... I'd never react or say anything because it's a personal choice.


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## rebecca822

Thanks 2have. I actually will get a free breast pump thanks to Obama's affordable care act :)
I will strongly consider the spectra.

Ellicain- if I am successful with breastfeeding it will only be until the babies turn 1 and can drink cows milk. 

I want to do as much research and preparation that I can so that I can make it work.


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## 2have4kids

elliecain said:


> Seeing a 2 year old still breastfeeding makes me feel a bit uncomfortable... I'd never react or say anything because it's a personal choice.

I feel exactly the same. My gf has a 2 year old that verbalizes which boob she wants, and a full set of teeth. I would never ssy snything as it's mom's choice! But I couldn't do it and it looks strange to me having a child who's eating everything we do still feeding from the boob. 

I'm not a fan of formula seeing that there are major ingredients like corn syrup and soy products in some formula brands. Soy has been banned for use in infant foods (it links to infertility when given to infants since it mimicks estrogen) from most countries except Canada and the USA (which have huge soy lobby groups). But we supplemented the breast milk with formula all the way along until 6 months when we did both formula and goats milk. Now she's eating enough solid food that she only drinks milk before her naps and bedtime it's only goats milk now. Walmart has the same organic goats milk that I was buying at my local Whole Foods equivalent store. Goats milk doesn't have the lactose that babies have troubles with and it breaks down to similar nutrition as formula. 

It was international breast feeding week last week, isn't it amazing that Obama's healthcare covers pumps! It's something we don't get covered in Canada because we have a year long paid maternity leave but it would be nice to have private healthcare cover it too. For those who have c sections it can help the milk come in. My gf's milk didn't come back in after her emergency section but she said both latching the baby and pumping really helped.


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## Fern81

Aww what a lovely little girl you have!!

I would love to be able to breastfeed. And will try my hardest. Will obviously have to pump since I would have to go back to work ASAP... Hubby saw a breast pump in the shop for the first time yesterday and was a bit rattled by it lol... he was also surprised to learn that babies need to feed very frequently at first and can't just go a whole night without eating, like older kids. He's got a lot to learn! (Well, so do I).


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## Pinkie3

2have, your little girl is so adorable, I just want to squeeze those lovely little cheeks. 

I really hope I can breastfeed too, I don't know why but the thought terrifies me, I think that's because I have heard some horror stories about how difficult it is. I am hoping to attend a breastfeeding class nearer the time and apparently there is a lot of support from the midwifes after the birth. I too will only feed for 6-12 months or when they get teeth, ouch!

I really need to look at breast pumps and so many other things, it's a bit daunting the amount we need to buy, I need to write a list. I went into a store today to pick up some stretch mark cream which meant I needed to head to the baby section (the section I usually avoid) I decided to have a look and there is so much stuff. I also looked at little baby grows for a 'coming home from hospital' outfit. I want the first thing we buy to be the first thing baby wears. However I found it so emotional I welled up in the middle of the shop and had to leave. I have dreamt for so many years to look in that section but it was a bit too much for me. What a loser ha ha. 

Fern, that is so funny your DH thought baby is going to sleep through, he is in for a shock. I think my DH is going to need a lot of educating too, the man has never even held a baby before. It's going to be fun. 

I finally got my nuchal scan results back today and we are a low risk for downs, Edwards and pataus so very pleased with that. 

How is everyone else doing?


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## Myshelsong

I am really hoping to breastfeed and pump successfully. Fingers are crossed. My mother and aunts didn't breastfeed and I am hoping to be able to do this with my child, at least for the first few months. Rebecca I like the idea of pumping ... A lot. We will see how it goes.

Watching the olympics today and piddling around the house trying to get some small stuff done. I am picking up an infant travel bed today from my Paint Party money! Super excited to get this, it will be great for when we have to go to my inlaws. They will not have a crib or anything so this looks pretty convenient for the first few months. Won't need a pack and play for a bit ... Less things to pack lol


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## beemeck

checking in and so glad to see everyone is still doing well!!

I'm trying to let everything digest and prepare for the upcoming weeks. after much research, I'm feeling okay that baby will make it through everything just fine, so now mainly mourning the loss of an ovary. us girls with infertility know just how devastating that really is. if one more person tells me that I still have another or they know of someone that had three kids with one ovary, I'll flip! I'm not that person - though I would love to be and I'll hope for a miracle. but after this baby, I'm going straight back to the RE for help. 

anyway, my doc put me on a no lifting restriction. I met with my boss this morning and was discussing this with her. she said that my job requirement (and it's true) states that I need to be able to lift up to 50 lbs (which is crazy) since I work with children. so she said that I'm not able to fill my job duties and will have to take a leave. I was debating what to do, so this made my decision easier, but I still can't help but feel like it's not fair. I should be given the option of "light duty" and stay in the office until it's lifted. ugh, whatever. I'll finish this week out, then I'll be off until my surgery and awhile after. 

good luck for upcoming scans girls!! soon we will be finding out genders!!! (some of us :haha:)


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## Prayingforno1

Hi everyone I also plan on breastfeeding. I will also need to start looking at my options for breast pumps. 
Myshelsong I see you started getting your baby items, I started window shopping for furniture for my baby room. Are you ladies getting a baby crib? I am a bit torn on this one. I don't want to buy baby items just to have them and don't use them. Obviously baby won't be using crib in another room for a while but would like to hear what you think.

So last week I told my cousin who I grew up really close with and is more like my sister that I am expecting. Everyone we told so far has been so happy for us but when I told her she was like ok, congrats but it was really dry. When she asked how far along I was I said 13weeks and her reply wow talk about being exact why don't you just say 3 months you don't have to say the weeks it's not that serious. She then goes on to say well it's good that it finally happened you guys have been married a really really long time so I'm sure you've been trying for a really really long time (we kept our ttc struggles private-imagine if she really knew what we went through). Not sure If I'm over thinking it but just find her reaction and comments seem so strange to me. She has 2 kids so it can't be that she's jealous. I am always there for her so it's very disappointing to have her react this way. She left me so confused.


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## froggyfrog

I'm hoping to breastfeed for a year, until he gets introduced to cows milk. I at least want to go a minimum of 6 months. I agree that it's everyone's personal choice of how long to go for, but I couldn't go past a year. There is no judgment for any one who does it, I just feel like breasts are so sexualized here that if my son had recollection of eating from my breast he may have some issue later. Just a fear of mine.


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## froggyfrog

Beemeck, at least the time off will let you rest! Sorry about people's comments! I feel like that about when people tell me that they know someone who did if and then got pregnant naturally. I just say oh that would be nice, but with our type of infertility, I'm not going to hope for that to happen for us. 

Praying, sorry your friend didn't seem excited. That really is weird! I wonder what was holding her back from being excited for you.


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## elliecain

I've lost count of the number of people who have told me about someone they know who did IVF then got pregnant naturally. It was ok at first, but now I'm getting really annoyed with it. It's like I'm being told I rushed into assisted conception or that my and DH's immune issues will somehow magically be cured by pregnancy. I just smile and nod then change the subject, but I think I might start responding differently soon...! What's so great about "natural" anyway? I'm proud to have become pregnant through ICSI. I am meant to be a mother and this is the way it is meant to happen. I will never take my baby for granted, I'll always know how wanted and special he or she is.


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## Rq120

Ellie - I hear you. This does happen to a subset of people, but I think what people don't understand is (in SOME people) the first pregnancy from assisted conception helps you to become pregnant the second time. For example, in my case my infertility was from endometriosis. But during pregnancy, the endo shrinks substantially in most women and the amount of "bad" receptors on that tissue is reduced. So pregnancy in itself might help me to become pregnant a second time naturally, but I wouldn't have that improved chance without getting pregnant with assisted conception first. AND that isn't the case for most people going through assisted conception with different infertility diagnosis. People just don't understand!

Beemeck - I don't like that your boss treated you like that, but it does sound like maybe you are not that bothered by it? If you are, you might look into your rights because it sounds like you should be offered a limited duty position or something. There are definite pregnancy rights in the US.


Yes, I plan on breastfeeding. Because we are having twins, I plan on taking the full 12 weeks offered by Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). I will breastfeed during this time and then try to pump as work.

Is anyone looking at classes? I am starting to look at classes at our hospital we are giving birth at. I just read on the class website that they encourage you to have signed up by month 4. You don't have attend, but at least enroll for later in your pregnancy. I'm glad I started looking it up now. I plan to discuss with Hubby and see what he thinks might be the best ones for us. We will be new parents and he will be a stay at home daddy. However we will have great support around us. Currently sister in law lives with us (going through a divorce) and she has tons of childcare experience from working in a daycare and in-laws have fostered 50 kids (some special needs babies) over the last 16 years.

As far as shopping, we are kinda in limbo with this pregnancy. We have planned on moving to Florida for years. In laws just moved there this weekend and they are our main support system. I want to stay in Indiana during my pregnancy to make sure I get my benefits and insurance, then we are planning on putting the house for sale right after/before maternity leave is finished. I have a good chance of taking my current job with me to Florida and working from home, but it's not guaranteed. However, I can find a new job relatively quickly and we are saving all the money we can in case I am out of work for a few weeks or more. But as far as shopping, I don't even think we will set up a nursery. I think my plan is to get bare necessities and then set up a nursery after we move states. I'm thinking of getting bassinets for our bedroom while they are still young. Like I said, limbo.... It will be stressful, but I have to trust that everything will work out and I am not stressing over something to be in 9 months from now. 

We also have a wedding in Mexico in April for our best friends. We are Maid of Honor and Best Man so we have to go. I'm also slightly stressing out about traveling with ~3 month olds. Oh life is exciting!


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## 2have4kids

Praying your sour friend sounds just like mine, we should introduce them to each other:rofl:. And as a mom, she should know that most women measure pregnancy time in weeks not months, what a thing to bicker about!

We got a second hand high end crib for next to nothing for MacKinley (saves from off gassing mattress worries) and we'll get another second hand crib that unfolds into a toddler bed as well. We also got a Halo 'bassinest' with mesh sides (second hand of course) which I loved, MacKinley stayed in our bedroom the first 6 months anyway and by the time the twins need cribs, MacKinley will be in a bed. The twins can share the bassinet but then I'd like them to have their own cribs at 6 months.

Beemack, Air Canada and other companies offer light duties for pregnant ladies. Thry have the same requirements as flight attendants, so as soon as you feel you can't meet your duties you're meant to report to them and they have an obligation to modify your work. It must be for the safety of the children that she was si black & white about it, which is noble of her, but at the same time she showed you no options or empathy, which is crappy!

Well, it's my first day back at work since last Sept 30. Just clearing up 1001 emails before I dig in. The bosses snd some colleagues are away on holidays so it's fairly quiet thankfully! I hope everyone is feeling good today!


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca and other us ladies, what breast pump does your insurance give? I'm hoping to get mine next weekend at the baby palooza. It's actually being hosted by my insurance company, and they will have a booth there for breast pumps, I'm going to my OB on Thursday for my 16 week appointment so I'm going to go ahead and get the necessary forms so that I have them ahead of time. I probably will mostly be bfing, but dh has said he would like to feed him and help out in the night so I want a pump so he can make bottles.


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## rebecca822

Ok wow, lots of new posts to catch up on!
Pinkie- so glad that your results came out good. What a sigh of relief! We haven't bought anything yet and I don't plan to until babies are born. I'm too superstitious. 
Beemeck- glad you're feeling more positive, I really hope you're baby will be alright. 
Praying- that's a real bummer when people are less excited for you. That's really upsetting :(
Ellicain- darn people! I sort of want to tell people that I conceived through IVF so that they know what a huge miracle it is. But then again, I want my privacy. 
I think you're definitely correct, those of us who struggle with getting pregnant don't take children for granted. They are a gift! 
Rq- wow a move with new little twinnies, sounds stressful! Indiana is so close to us, we drive through Indiana almost every weekend on our way to Michigan. 
I plan on only taking off 8 weeks because it's too expensive to take off more and my job really needs me. If I'm away there's no one to run payroll or do billing. 
How does FMLA work? In Illinois there's no paid maternity coverage. Is FMLA for all states?
As far as shopping, we have a lot of baby gear from our 4 year old but will need more.
Need a second crib but my mom has 1 so we'll take it from her (of course only after she finds out its twins)
Need two car seats since my other one is already expired
Need a double stroller
New breast pump
1 highchair (I have 1 saved)
We have toys and a baby swing and I'm sure I'll get some stuff as gifts.


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## Prayingforno1

2have4kids-Yes, I don't understand why she's so sour but trying to ignore it just so puzzling 

Rq120-Looking into classes is a good idea I Thought it was a bit early so never checked. I guess I better start looking!

I have been looking at co sleepers so we have easy access to baby at night for changing and nursing. I already found the stroller I want as well but I think I may go in shopping mode once I found out the sex of the baby (even though most of the items I like are unisex in colour).

My next scan is a full 2 weeks away and I'll be 16 weeks then. Time is just flying


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## rebecca822

froggyfrog said:


> Rebecca and other us ladies, what breast pump does your insurance give? I'm hoping to get mine next weekend at the baby palooza. It's actually being hosted by my insurance company, and they will have a booth there for breast pumps, I'm going to my OB on Thursday for my 16 week appointment so I'm going to go ahead and get the necessary forms so that I have them ahead of time. I probably will mostly be bfing, but dh has said he would like to feed him and help out in the night so I want a pump so he can make bottles.

My insurance covers any brand electric breast pump.
Hospital grade pumps can be rented up to $1000 per pregnancy with no copay or deductible.

I think it's super important for a baby to be able to take bottles so you can have someone else feed them. Also, if you need to be away from baby for more than a few hours. My friend exclusively nurses her 7 months old. While it's wonderful I think it's crazy that her baby doesn't take a bottle. im talking about breast milk bottle not even formula.


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## Fern81

I'm super jealous of all the insurance benefits you US ladies have. You are very fortunate. 
I'm looking to get a second hand crib from family or friends. At the end of the year I'll be moving into the nursery downstairs, H can join me if he wants (double bed). I don't want to have to carry an infant up and down the stairs all the time; our upstairs bedroom also gets waayyyy hot in summer. I want a crib/cot next to my bed. It's also right next to the kitchen- convenient. We'll play it by ear to decide who sleeps where as baby gets older. I have a nice stroller, camping cot and carry cot already. (All from family).


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## froggyfrog

Fern I do feel lucky that we have a system in place to help make Heathcare more affordable, but sometimes I feel like we spend so much money still. Our premiums alone are almost 100.00 a week for heath, eyes, and dental. And then you have to reach deductibles before some of your benefits will even kick in. So sometimes it's worth it, and sometimes it's like why do I even have insurance.


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## Fern81

Beemeck- glad you're feeling a bit better. Hugs! 

Praying- ugh I've also had a good friend (at least I thought she was a good friend?) Who has never even congratulated me or shown the slightest interest in the pregnancy. People are really strange sometimes! 

Pinkie- oh shame hun. I can imagine it felt overwhelming. Xx by the way wanted to mention that I can feel my uterus much more easily when I'm lying in the bath for some reason. Maybe it's to do with the buoyancy. In any case it's as if it sticks out more and feels more defined ;) maybe worth a try!

Rq- wow yes life will be very interesting! :) good to have the family's support. I'm definitely doing classes. And a hospital tour. Antenatal classes at my hospital can be scheduled for a series of weeknights or, thank heavens, all in one very long Saturday session (otherwise H wouldn't have been able to attend ). After 26 weeks. I still need to find out how much it costs though!!


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## Fern81

Froggy- yep... we can't afford that but it seems like many good RSA insurance packages. We pay about $230 a month for ONLY hospital coverage. That's what DH decided we could afford....


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## rebecca822

Fern81 said:


> I'm super jealous of all the insurance benefits you US ladies have. You are very fortunate.

We do get free breast pumps but no paid maternity leave. The standard is to get off 6 weeks unpaid.
I'll trade my free breast pump for 9 months paid maternity leave :)


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## Rq120

Rebecca - "I'll trade my free breast pump for 9 months paid maternity leave"
Yup! LOL
FMLA is national. There are a few stipulations (must have worked there for a year, so many employees) but it basically guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave and your job is secured. 


So I got the Materniti21 results back today and they were negative (screens for Downs and Trisomy 18/13. 
Also there was a Y chromosome which means I'm having at least one boy. :)


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## froggyfrog

Awesome congrats rq!!! I bet the other is a girl!


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie, I meant to respond and forgot, I guess I'll blame pregnancy brain. I've had that overwhelming feeling too where I start blubbering in stores, walking around hoping the tears don't fall out if my eyes, trying to blink them away. I'm not positive that it gets any better with time. I feel more emotional now that I've had MacKinley. Take your time and just realise thsat you will doon be a mother despite the personal hell you've been through, you deserve all of the joys motherhood and pregnancy has to offer. Take your time and when you're having a moment just breath. And remember we all send you :hugs: xx
I think IF has left deep scars on me that will take more than a few years to recover from. I think if the trauma of not being able to concieve lasted 6 years, I might be feeling better in another 6 years once my children are happy & growing. It still makes me upset thinking about what we had to go through to get here. 

Rq we're doing classes too. With DD we did an 8 week baby & birthing class and we still meet up with folks from that class all the time for fun stuff like baby & mom yoga and coffee dates. The next event is a group birthday party Oct 15, which I said I'd host (I'm the only one pregnant right now what was I thinking!) We're doing a twins birthing class and hope to meet up with lots of other twinnie parents to chat with. I'm also on a twin fb group with a few other B&B moms right now. If anyone is interested let me know and I can send along the name of the group. It's a closed group so photos are private but they discuss parenting problems that I'm sure will come in handy.


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## rebecca822

Rq congrats on the good tests!

Yay for 1 boy!

So I had some bleeding over the weekend and messaged my doctor. He said protocol would be to have me come in for an ltrasound so I'm going tomorrow. I was going to go Thursday anyways but now that the bleeding happened I'll go tomorrow.
Can't wait to see my little babies :)


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca sorry to hear about the bleeding, yay for a scan!

RQ congrats on 1 boy!


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## Rq120

Rebecca - good luck tomorrow.


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## Fern81

Congrats rq!! Let me know when you want me to change the colour of the storks' bundles on the first page :) when is your gender ultrasound? Happy to hear the tests are normal!

Good luck tomorrow rebecca x.

22 more sleeps until my next ultrasound when we will find out if this LO is definitely a boy or a girl! Tomorrow in 3 weeks. So excited. My pregnancy apps say that baby can now start to hear us, so I've started talking out loud to him/her and really can't wait to call baby by its name etc. I think it will definitely help me bond. Also, my mom, sister and niece are all so convinced it's a girl that they will need time to get over their disappointment before baby arrives, if it turns out to be a boy. I'm a bit miffed that my mom was so disappointed when dr said it looked like a boy.


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## elliecain

Congratulations RQ. I'm guessing one of each :)

I had some really bad cramping yesterday evening. Sharp right hand side pains that took my breath away. I was considering going to hospital, but I decided to have some food and wait it out. The pains went, but I'm an anxious mess today. I think I might try to get seen at the EPAC, as they might do a reassurance scan. I've not had any bleeding or spotting, but then I'm still using cyclogest, so it probably wouldn't bleed anyway. I'm sure it's just round ligament pains or something totally normal, but I can't help worrying. I want to see my baby (my fetus as of today!) and know it's ok.


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## Rq120

Ellie - I had cramps like that earlier on. Sometimes they would double me over. I haven't had anything like that for a while. I'm trying to think of what weeks I experienced them.

Fern - I go to the OB on Aug 22nd and then I will schedule my anatomy scan. I'm thinking it will be mid Sept. I'm going to vacation on Sept 17-24 so I will try to schedule it at least the week before. You can change the colors if you want but one will have to be yellow and the other blue. :)

I'm voting for a boy and a girl, but I honestly don't really care. I just want healthy babies.


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## rebecca822

Elli- if you are ever worried you can get yourself checked out. It will calm your nerves if nothing else.


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## Fern81

Uh what a day! When I got to my classroom this morning (in the back of our garden) the doors were wide open & the place had been ransacked. Lots stolen. I'm still so upset I've been crying all day. We've been noticing that things are always going missing but the crime rate here is so high, we are used to getting robbed by garden workers etc. But to actually have your home broken into and ransacked is just horrible no matter how many times it happens. I'm a mess today. I keep worrying that someone attacks me & hurts baby. DH came home early from work and is rushing around trying to install additional security systems. I keep having cramps and feeling like I'm going to have a panic attack and faint. Hormones are making my response worse I guess. And tomorrow I have to sit in there and teach 8am-6pm :(. 

Ellie- hope all is OK and that it's just rlp!


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## rebecca822

Fern that's horrible I'm so sorry for you :(
I really hope you can get that mess cleaned up and relax a little.


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## froggyfrog

Oh fern, that is so horrible! I don't understand why people take what isn't theirs. I really hope you can gain some sort of security by having the systems that dh is installing. Try to relax for the rest of the day.


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## froggyfrog

Ellie it's most likely rlp, I had the same thing early on. It seems like it gets worse the further along you get. My rlp is really bad! Just had it this morning upon awaking, I couldn't get out of bed, just laid there trying to breathe through it.


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## Myshelsong

I am so sorry Fern! That is the horrible having someone break into your house and disturb your sense of security. Good luck on the security system installation. Try to relax Hun. 

What's rlp? Sorry I can't figure it out.

Glad everyone's test are coming back low chances of chrome issues. 

Yay for at least one boy, that is exciting! Are you going to try to find out the sex of both or make it a suprise?

Sorry haven't been able to read through everything, I know I am missing people. I hope everyone is doing well.
Got the Doppler yesterday and found the heartbeat! Every exciting, I slept like a baby last night. Felt so reassured for the first time I got off progesterone! So glad there is still a heartbeat, haven't had an us or Doppler since I stopped. Phew


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## Fern81

Myshel- glad you're enjoying your doppler! Rlp = round ligament pain, sorry. :)

Thanks I'm still feeling physically sick and wish with all my heart I could cancel tomorrow and take a few days off to deal with this. I've never reacted to/been traumatised by a burglary this way. Definitely hormones & new instincts kicking in. I honestly don't even want to sit in my classroom tomorrow (even though I've cleaned up everything).


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## 2have4kids

Fern that's horrible news! I'm sorry you're going through all of this right now. At least your DH is taking measures to help the situation. Sending you big :hugs:

I hope the cramping gets better ladies!

Myshelsong, enjoy that doppler, you've inspired me to dig mine out tonight!


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## rebecca822

Myshel that is amazing!! So glad you found the heartbeat with the Doppler. Will you use it once a day?


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## elliecain

Fern I'm so sorry. That is a horrible and unsettling thing to happen and I'm not surprised you are so upset. The added security will hopefully help you to cope better tomorrow and in the meantime, maybe try some meditation to let go of the feeling. I use The Honest Guys on YouTube, their guided meditations are awesome for relaxation.

I've booked a reassurance scan on Thursday. The EPAC refused to see me, so I've found a private company that does them near here. It's not cheap, but I need the reassurance right now. The pain has stopped, but I'm still feeling quite anxious and like it's not real again, like I did before the early scan. That scan kept me calm for about 10 days, so I'm hoping the one on Thursday will see me through to my NHS scan at 11-12 weeks!


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## Myshelsong

Ellie I had bad round ligament pains, it is pretty scary. Now I get freaked out when I have days without them!

I wouldn't want to be in the room either Fern. Can you cancel?
Not sure if I am going to try every day or not. Going to let hubs be the decider. I got it mainly just to make sure we still had a hb after I stopped progesterone, and for hubs to connect with the baby as we progress. He seemed pretty pumped about finding the hb last night which was awesome. I was thinking once a week, but he might want it a little more often.


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## froggyfrog

I listen to Gage like every other day now. It's not so much for reassurance anymore, but just because I love the sound of his hb. He has seemed to make his way up closer to my belly button. At 9 weeks he was closer to my public bone now he is in the middle of public bone and my belly button. I'm currently sitting on the couch with headphones on my belly so he can hear his playlist.. I read that they recognize the songs when they are born and it's a good way to calm them. I may play his playlist for him while he sleeps.


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## Rq120

Fern - that's so awful! I'm so sorry that you have to experience that.


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## nimbec

Hi ladies so sorry I'm not on much so much stuff going on here at the minute, we caught our warehouse man stealing thousands of pounds worth of stock a few days ago so have had a difficult time sorting out plus a man down so hard work in the office! 

Fern I'm so sorry how awful sending you huge hugs xxx

Ellie I have Had horrid pains too really panicked me so I did go to the EPU as I'm under them anyway with my complications and I had a lovely scan Monday all looks great and saw hb, eyes, mouth arms and legs &#128512; Hope you get a good scan too! Sorry they wouldn't see you &#128545;

Yay for dopplers ladies I need to dig mine out from the loft! 

Sorry I have missed people hello all sending positive vibes to you all!! 

No news for me really ovaries are still 9cm &#128584; And I have another scan at fertility clinic Thursday so looking forward to that as they have amazing machines and I get 2 scans in one week - I feel very lucky &#128512;


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## rebecca822

Hello ladies, just got back from my ultrasound. My girls are doing great! She's pretty positive we have two girls.
I do have a tear on some membrane (done recall the name) which is causing the bleeding. I need to take it easy the next two weeks and no heavy lifting. I'll be on pelvic rest as well. In two weeks they will check of it has healed.

We got some great pictures of the girls :)
 



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## Fern81

Glad to hear your baby is doing so great & growing well nimbec with all your previous issues! Ugh sorry about the warehouse thief, it's just worse when it's someone you know and trust.

Lovely pics Rebecca! I'll change your storks to girls, we can always change those it's fun to hope & make educated guesses for now right? X

So we installed a security light & fixed up 2 additional security doors on the inside of the house which separate the bedrooms & bathrooms from the rest of the house just to at least feel safe when we sleep. We got someone in to give a quote on upgraded security fencing. Planning on getting a dog (we've wanted one for ages). And we are going to plant sharpened iron rods in the garden all along the property wall so if someone jumps over they will hopefully land on a sharp rod. We've also been wanting to do that since we've moved in but never got around to it. Looking at security cameras. And I will be carrying my pepper spray around with me inside my own property instead of just when I leave the property. :/ This on top of all the electric fencing & gates & alarms we already have! A lot of unneeded expenses but rather get it all done now before something worse happens.

Unfortunately I can't cancel tomorrow since it's a lot of clients (income) & also I don't want to alarm my students and make them feel that my classroom is unsafe. Oh well. We'll get through it. And then things have to turn round after a bad month so far, maybe I'll even win the lotto lol.


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## Rq120

Rebecca- what kind of twins are you having. They look like they are sharing a sac. I guess I just assumed everyone here was having Di/Di twins but maybe that was short sighted.


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## Prayingforno1

lovely scan Rebecca

:hugs: Fern


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## rebecca822

Rq they are fraternal. They're in seperate sacs but it's hard to tell in that picture. They were actually kicking each other today :)
It was so cool to watch them bumping into each other! I'm not sure how that works since they are separated but they were totally touching. So weird.


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## ES89

Omg fern, hope your ok! Must be such a frightening experience, last thing you need at the minute! 
Lovely scan picture Rebecca, bet your on cloud like xx 
I've got my scan at the fertility clinic on Friday, looking forward to hopefully seeing my little pea on the screen xx


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## Fern81

Today is DONE! Phew it was exhausting. I got food poisoning last night from eating cafe food for lunch as I was too upset to cook! So now things HAVE to get better. At least the wheel always turns and H is now DH again. We're working through the love languages and the love dare & it's going well, we are both committed it seems especially after yesterday's disaster.

Es- oohh yay I can't wait for your scan! Hope you see a lot of detail. X

Rebecca well that amnion is very thin so maybe they can sense each other's touch already. Too cool.


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## Fern81

On a light note. 
https://justsomething.co/24-hilarious-baby-photoshoot-pinterest-fails-9-made-my-entire-day/

Thanks again for everyone's support. X


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## 2have4kids

Fern that's great news about you & DH. Sometimes emergencies can pull us together, I'm sorry it had to happen like that. Also sorry you got food poisoning. When it rains it pours!

Nimbec & ES enjoy your scans this week!

Rebecca, lovely photo of the girls. 
I hope everyone else is having a great week. Yesterday was my 1st day back to work. I was mostly deleting emails and getting my system set up. Things change quickly with our software so I have some learning to do to find where some of my tools went to :haha: i'm sure they're just in a clever new location as Microsoft Office does but it definitely makes me wonder if it's my pregnancy brain not working or if I just can't figure out Adobe's cleverness lol.


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## Myshelsong

Fern, wow that is a lot of security. That has to keep the bad guys out. Where do you live, it sucks there is so much theft in the area. So glad you guys are giving that book a chance to open up communication. 

Rebecca that is so cute, love it. 

2 have, I am sure it is the system not you. If someone moves a button I am normally lost for a few weeks lol

Looks like I have a scan I forgot about I have to book for next week then the 20 week scan is coming up soon too. Excited!
So I went shopping today and it is super hot out and I hate shopping so I was crazy grumpy, but I went and got myself a burrito for lunch and my mood went from sour to .... Singing! I can't believe how happy I got just because I had something tastey in my tummy. Baby must have been super happy to get something lol.
Anyone else gone from crazy angry to happy because of food?


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## elliecain

Oh so much! I'm currently obsessed with toast with marmite and tomatoes. In fact, tomatoes in any form just do it for me right now. If I'm getting hangry, my DH starts chopping them up!!!

I have a scan boned tomorrow at 10am. I'm paying quite a reasonable price and it will be nice to have it done like that rather than at the EPAC because they give me time and I get a memory stick with the images on to take away. I'm not sure if I'll get to hear the heartbeat, but they should be able to tell me the bpm. I'm nervous as I'll be on my own, but I'm also really excited!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so happy things are looking better for you and DH.

2have, who is watching McKinley while you work?

Myshelsong yes!! When I have food that I've been craving or enjoy I get really excited too!!

Ellicain- so glad you have a scan tomorrow. Can't wait to hear about it and see your pictures!

Any other scans coming up soon? I guess now that we are all a bit further along there are less scans.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong yes, food makes me very happy, especially when it's something I'm able to enjoy (no nausea while eating and no horrible GD after taste=happy happy!) 

Ellie don't talk to me about Marmite! They banned it from Canada because of a brown dye and now I can't have it :cry: I LOVE LOVE LOVE toast, marmite/vegemite + tomatoes. I'm loving tomatoes at the moment too. I have them just with salt + pepper, fried with breakfast or roasted with other veggies. Imagine if they bsnned is from Aussie/NZ, the people would riot!:rofl:

Rebecca my DH was laid off in June 2015 and has really enjoyed being home with baby. So while I'm at work he's Mr. Mom! We're ok though, he got 13 months on government unemployment insurance which is approx 1/2 his salary and then he got 6 weeks paid out holiday time plus 6 months severance. So he's ok until next Feb when I'm due with the twins. I don't think he'll get another job for even a year after that as he's very specialized in the oil industry. But we'll still be ok, there's lots in the mortgage in case we need extra dosh and I view family as much more important right now than stressing over money or saving for retirement. After my mat leave with the twins we'll worry about him getting back to work (he is currently looking of course) and get a nanny for the kids. Most people really stress over job loss but he's been quite relaxed about it lol it's more me who wishes something would just open up but I can't stress as it's not a dire situation. If we lived in a country without unemployment insurance that would be another conversation!

Fern I agree with Myshelsong, that's a shwach of security. Is there extreme poverty around where you live or teach?


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## Pinkie3

Sorry looks like I have missed a bit.

Fern, I am so sorry to hear what happened, how scary. And wow your security needs to be tight but glad you managed to get a lot sorted so quickly. I am also pleased to hear that DH is making an effort, I hope this is a turning point for you both. 

Rebecca, I love that scan picture, it's so beautiful. 

2have, I hope your first day back at work went ok and you didn't miss Mackinley too much. Sounds like you and DH have a good plan in place and if financially you are stable then good luck to you.

Myshel, food use to make me so happy but now I hate it, I am eating because I have to. I so want a burrito and be happy :cry:

Es89 and Ellie, good luck at your scans this week. Enjoy.

I know I have missed people, sorry, I hope everyone is doing ok and babies are all behaving themselves. 

Not much to report from me, I have had another headache all day today which has been annoying I thought I got rid of them. DH came for a nice walk with me which helped a little even though he played in a golf comp this morning so was shattered, bless him, he is good to me. 

Random question... What does one drink when they go out and alcohol is off limits? At home I have been drinking a lot of water and squash but I haven't really been 'out out' since being pregnant. I am at an all day wedding this weekend and I don't want to live on pop but water is going to get very boring. What is an exciting non alcoholic drink?


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## rebecca822

Wow 2have that's an amazing amount of benefits for DH. Good for him for being mr mom. I calculated that once the babies are born after I pay for full time babysitting I will come him with $300 per week. That seems like very little money after working 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Plus, since I'm working so much we are in a hire tax bracket and go no government aid and pay a ton of tax. I'm really starting to worry. Even if my DH gets a raise I still can't justify paying 2/3 my salary to my babysitter.


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## froggyfrog

Pinkie, virgin strawberry daiquiris or virgin pina colada are delicious. Or even a cranberry with soda and lime is yummy and bubbly and fun. Have fun! 

Myshel, I get hangry too. I also get mad if I get too hot. Basically if i. Uncomfortable in any way I'm not a nice person! Poor dh!!


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie I'm glad you asked, I found an awesome link for you/us. The Thai iced tea sounds wonderful! 
https://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/no-booze-no-problem?utm_term=.cqpeGdlvj#.qjD5vog2L

I usually have bubbly water with lime juice but that gets old after a while. Tea, hot chocolate and water at home. But these mocktails are inspiring! Love salted virgin daiquiris too.

Rebecca that's crappy. Things really are NOT set up for our society for having a family. Not only di we take a pay cut or no pay for some with our maternity leave but then we have to pay for daycare afterwards. If your work operates like mine I have to deduct my healthcare for my year off before I leave and then pdnsion gets deducted afterwards. I have $645 in deductions for last years pension and next years healthcare off each pay until my next leave and then when we get a nanny for all 3 kids it'll be $1500-2000/month plus at least $500 off each pay for pension payback. All of my friends have told me over the years that the financial burden is horrific snd you just muddle through it but my goodness, there is a mortgage to pay and food to put on the table too. For now, especislly with only one of us working out of sight, out of mind for me!


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## rebecca822

My favorite is a virgin mojito. Had one a few months ago while on vacation in Phoenix and I've been craving one since. Haven't been out really anywhere with a bar since then.


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## elliecain

I've not drunk alcohol for 12 years so I find this easy. I love non alcoholic ginger beer and most pubs in the UK now sell Becks Blue, which is a non alcoholic beer. Fizzy water with cranberry juice and a slice of lime is nice and looks pretty. 
Many places serve virgin cocktails but I'm usually quite shocked at how much they charge for this.
I find that I drink far fewer drinks when I'm out than people who are drinking alcohol, as I'm only drinking to thirst. It's so cheap!


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## Rq120

Rebecca - funny that your babies are so close together. Mine are in different sides and it's almost impossible to get them in the same US shot. Maybe another reason to think they might be a boy and girl (Ramzi theory and all that). 

Fern- I'm happy to hear that you and your hubby are working on your relationship. I hope it gets better and stronger.


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## ES89

Is anyone suffering with morning sickness??


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## rebecca822

ES89 said:


> Is anyone suffering with morning sickness??

Thankfully I'm past that stage of all day feeling queezy. Now I get bouts of nausea whenever I get hungry. I try to eat every two hours or I know I'll be sick.
I do have some insomnia... Up most nights for several hours during the night.


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## Pinkie3

Thanks for all the drink recommendations, there are some great ones. I just hope this venue has a good bar selection so I can get creative. 

Es89, yes I suffered MS from 6 weeks and although it's easing I am still suffering now at 14 weeks. I feel like I've had a hangover from hell for 8 weeks!! Make sure you drink plenty of water and carry lots of snacks with you, I find as soon as I start getting a little empty I start feeling sick, little and often all the way. 

Although the British like to moan, we do get looked after over here with regards to maternity. Unfortunately the way our benefits system work you are also better off not working or contributing to society and you get almost everything for free. It's so frustrating. I gave up my job last year to concentrate on getting pregnant and been doing some temp work in between cycles. Because of what my DH earns and the fact I won't have earned enough between a certain time period I do not get a single penny. The fact I have contributed to society solidly for the past 20 years does not get taken into account. I am just lucky enough that we can afford for me to be a stay at mum and I am hoping to use the time to train in something else that I can do from home or work for myself. That's the plan anyway. We had to make a lot of sacrifices to get pregnant but I have no regrets. 

X


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## 2have4kids

Now that I'm off prednisone, I feel sick when I get hungry and sometimes when I'm eating I have to stop. I get intense feelings that I'm going to vomit up my meal sometimes. When I can finish what I'm eating without, I'm extremely relieved. Last pregnancy the only time I barfed baby was so big the kicks had just started, I was eating lunch and she was kicking away and I just lost it. Feeling like there wasn't enough room for food and there was too much commotion for the food to stay in. 

Ok, I made the Thai iced tea off the link from that website and I'm def going to try it again and with Chai tea too. It was delish!


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## Fern81

Ok after reading all that it seems like every country has economic pitfalls :/. At least here a lot of places give 3 months paid/ 1/2 pay maternity leave. Well as I run my own small business there will be no mat pay for me but I'm saving up so I can hopefully at least get through Nov-March. (No students mid Nov-mid Jan for me as that is our long summer holiday so I'll be on "forced" mat leave lol).

Yep it seems like a lot of security but remember this is Africa. Our security has so far been on the lower end of the spectrum compared to many other people we know. We live in a lower middleclass area but there's still lots of poverty and crime here and everywhere in RSA; our area is not classed as "high crime" trust me you don't even go to the high crime areas! Many people live in security "estates" / villages with restricted access & round the clock armed guards but that's too expensive for us. They still get robbed, mugged and attacked sometimes regardless because unfortunately, in many cases the security guards can just be bribed. Many people also live in much worse areas than we do and suffer on a daily basis :/ lots of change needed in the country. Having said that I still love many other features of RSA and I doubt we'll ever immigrate. Well, maybe.

Myshel- oh yes food wonderful food! It's like my life revolves around eating now. Will you be finding out the baby's sex then next week!? I had a dream that we are having a little girl who looks just like my sister; I keep dreaming of this same baby girl! Weird.

Ellie- hope you have a lovely scan today! 

2have - how is it to be back at work? Are you super tired or glad for the change of scenery?


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## elliecain

My scan was amazing! Baby now measures 1.9cm, strong heartbeat and is on track for dates. I'll not post a scan pic here out of respect for those not having good results, but it's on my journal if anyone's interested.


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## 2have4kids

Fern that's crazy about the security you need to have over there. I guess if it's the norm than it seems you just have to do what you need to do but uggg! Robberies are definitely up with the tanked economy over here and the economists said just wait until people finish their unemployment benefits and start losing their homes, you'll see a new wave of crime then. 

How's it back at work? Fern my DH is great 90% of the time but Sunday night he goes out for beers with a friend and tells me he'll be back to put Mack to bed. I was up since 6:30am with her. He waltzes in at midnight, she's still not asleep but I told him I have to get up at 5:30 to work and to be home at 10pm. So I've been shattered the entire week. I've made him put her to bed every night this week and because it was his second time making that promise & breaking in in less than a week I texted his 2 buddies, 1 male, 1 female that they'll no longer be seeing DH in the evening for beers and if they'd like to see him they can ask him out during the afternoon Friday-Sunday before 6pm and NOT to accept an invite from him to go out in the evening unless they wish to contribute to a divorce. The guy friend texted back his sincere apologies the lady nothing. So I look on DH's cell and the lady texted him asking if it was me texting her and Andy said yes and asked her to forward the texts to him. She did and then he apologized for my nasty text. He also apologized that she had to see that side of me and said that I was just nervous about my first day back at work:grr: He also had deleted previous texts from her (that I had read a while ago). What's he trying to hide? So when I read that, I replied to her from his phone identifying that it's me. I told her that unlike the other fellow, who was kind enough to reply with some compassion, she had no response to my request and instead went and forwarded it to DH? So I told her that DH and I made an agreement eons ago that if we felt the other was cheating we'd divorce period. And hiding texts, lying about what time he'll be home, lying about why I was upset to her (in a 48 hour period I had 5 hours of sleep and had to put in a full first day of work-um that's a legitimate enough reason for me to request no more late night beers!).:growlmad: Hiding and lying in my eyes beautifully defines cheating. I don't care if it's plutonic, both of them showed me no courtesy and I wasn't asking for much. She got all bitchy with me and said that I'd push him away further and to stop texting her. I said he's doing that ALLLL by himself, I'm simply laying my boundaries and as long as DH and I are married AND she's in his life that I'll contact her whenever I d..... well please. All of my texts to her included DH. He woke up and saw the conversation and told me that this isn't a way to solve anything:rofl: Like I need psychology advice from him? I said he's right, I should just get a lawyer and start the divorce. Asked him if he really wanted to be married anymore and if so why can't he show it/behave it? He suggested we talk once a day until we have all our issues sorted. I said that's great, talk with a person who's a non-communicator. And when he interrupts, what then? I asked him what he's going to do about that interrupting problem and he said we'll pass a stone when it's our turn to talk (we did this in counselling) and he'd set up 2 counselling sessions. Fine. 

Then I come home his male buddy texts him asking for beers Tuesday night, I'm still shattered and wtf? Do these people really want to have a hand in our divorce? Was all that apology from his buddy lip service? So I told DH if he walks out the door I will start the proceedings and to just forget about talking & counselling. He stayed home but says he's going out Thursday night after we've talked Wed. I doubt anything useful will come out of talking Wed. Unless infront of a counselor I just can't see progress being made, and even then it's extremely slow.

Honestly, when someone interferes with my ability to parent or messes with my career. I feel the heckles come up and I immediately want to get them out of my life. I've asked SO little from DH. To spend 3 hours at the bar instead of 5. How hard is that? I don't want a divorce especially with twins on the way but I'm willing to go there if I feel he's only in this for himself. He's not working so it's not much of a loss other than the childcare for MacKinley. But I'm sure I could sort that out. I feel I will be able to handle whatever life deals me after all this infertility but I WILL NOT have MacKinley grow up seeing any man behave like this and think it's OK. He'd better get his act together or he'll lose custody of his kids as I'll fight tooth and nail for her. My one saving grace is that he loves her to bits and it would tear him apart not having her in his life. Why are men so rediculous? 90% of the time DH is fantastic and I don't think marriage is a cakewalk, it changes, morphs, and hopefully grows to get better with age. Why ruin the relationship & trust over random stupidity?:wacko:

So Fern, my week has been exhausting and stressful. Work is great! But home life is full of bugs to sort. Sorry for the long rant ladies!


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## Fern81

Congrats on a healthy lil growing baby Ellie!

2have - you have every right to rant& vent as much as you want to, get it off your chest! Wow that is a nasty situation to find yourself in :/ men can be so randomly idiotic!? I really HOPE you guys can sort things out and that you don't need to go down the divorce route :( I hope the counselling helps. At least he's not hiding his phone from you or grabbing it away when it rings etc... in my experience when someone is involved in an extramarital affair they behave much more secretively, if that makes you feel any better. I wish I could pound sense into all the men in the world though. We all try so hard to focus on the positive and we are all so grateful for our pregnancies, it's totally unfair that our husbands can randomly steal our joy. Wish I could give you a hug!! Pm me if you ever need to. Xx


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## Pinkie3

Oh 2have, I am sorry to read this. It's certainly not what you need right now. It does sound like a good idea for you both to sit down and talk about what is happening. It's such a shame that this small part of him is causing so many issues when like you say most of the time he is great. I hope you get to talk things through and he understands your feelings, a little compromise is not a lot to ask for. You are a team and you need to make life as comfortable and as happy as you can for each other. I hope the situation improves quickly for you. Oh and rant away, it always makes me feel so much about things when I do. 

Ellie, congratulations on the scan today, good news that everything is on track. I love seeing little one wriggling away, it's so amazing.

Fern, it's so sad that some people have to live in fear everyday because of crime, it seems so unfair. I know every country has there dodgy areas, there are definitely places here I avoid but to be faced with that everyday must be so hard. It's good that you have high security and able to protect yourself the best you can. It's such a shame it has such a high crime rate because South Africa is a beautiful country and you are right there does need to be some changes. Let's hope we see it in our lifetime.


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## 2have4kids

Thanks ladies, Fern, I looked at his phone Sunday evening when he left in on the couch while he took DD outside to try to help her sleep. It's a trick he does for her and it seems to work. Then Tuesday morning when he was still asleep and it was beside him on his night table I opened it to see the aftermath of my text to his friends. I'm surprised he hasn't changed his password lol. I know he's not cheating sexually, but either way, as soon as you start lying or hiding things from me or speaking badly about me to friends it's the equivalent of cheating in my eyes. I think it's bad for me to check his phone but when you have a friend that's a girl, that he sees maybe once or twice/month, it's wise on every wife's part to check now and then what the conversations look like. I almost never check but when I do I'm always ok with what's going on. She's going through a divorce, has a boyfriend, and DH has known her since uni days. I'm glad she thinks it's cruel for me to cut them off. Next time someone reaches out to you who's in distress, answer the call, don't just reply to your long time loyal male friend! 

He's coming for a walk and lunch at noon with DD and then we set an agenda on what to talk about tonight. Albeit he's only set 1/2 hour for us, I don't know how he'll get a word in in that timeframe:rofl:


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## Rq120

2have - I hope your talk goes well tonight. It's important that you are put first in your marriage. Where does ANY other woman get off telling you that you are pushing your husband away. grrrr

Ellie - yay on the healthy US.


AFM same ol same ol. I told DH that I'll be happy to go to the doc next Monday and check on the babies. My stomach isn't feeling as hard and I want to see how they are doing. Last week you could totally feel exactly where my uterus was and now even though I feel the uterus it's not as defined. I think what is happening is they are getting higher and are surrounded by a little more abdominal fat. Also, I think maybe my cysts are going down and that is helping with the bloating. I have one pair of pants that fit right now and I have a feeling I'll be transitioning to maternity pants in the next week or two.


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## rebecca822

Ellie- so happy your baby is doing well! Always so reassuring to see/hear that little heart beating.

2have- wow, sounds rough! Good for you for being on top of it and not letting it get worse. I like your policy of cheating=automatic divorce. I would never be able to trust DH after that. DH doesn't communicate that well but at least I know that we can trust each other. I hope you guys work it out and things are happy when the babies come.


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## Myshelsong

2have sounds like a stressful couple of days! Hope it gets better soon.

Ok so got our bloodwork back and we are low for everything ..... And we are HAVING A BOY!!! 
Ahhh kind of freaking out. I think I convinced my self it was a girl for some reason and I am super thrilled, but now have to rethink the nursery! And names, omg I have to think about names, boy names.


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## rebecca822

Yay myshelsong!!! So awesome!!

I'm so unsure what to do for the nursery. My daughters room is adorable and super girly. It has an awesome elephant theme. Bedding, window curtains and valances and I ordered her custom blocks with her name with elephants. There's also elephant wall art. 
Our third bedroom which is waiting for the arrival of our little girls in painted BLUE! When we moved into our house I didn't know if I was having a boy or girl so we painted one room pink and the other blue. 
Now I'm stuck with a blue room and two girls on the way. If we repainting before they're born then everyone will know..


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## Myshelsong

You could do a light grey with blue accents everywhere in the furniture and bedding. Light grey is pretty unisex. Or wait to paint until you tell everyone. Are you going to tell family?


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## rebecca822

Myshelsong said:


> You could do a light grey with blue accents everywhere in the furniture and bedding. Light grey is pretty unisex. Or wait to paint until you tell everyone. Are you going to tell family?

No, we are not telling :)

I guess we'll repaint once they arrive. I just wish it could be completed beforehand.

Also, we have blue carpet, but I can do grays and that would work.


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## froggyfrog

So awesome myshel!!!! Congrats!!!

We are doing our own spin on oh the places you'll go. I didn't like the store bought ones so I'm making my own. I'm making hot air balloons out of party lanterns, and I'm going to have the words oh the places youll go over the crib. 

Today is my birthday! Dh bought me a really nice handbag, he has got really good taste in bags and shoes. He goes shopping with me sometimes and dresses me lol.


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## rebecca822

Happy birthday froggy!

Sounds like my DH, he's awesome at styling me :)


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## Rq120

Yay myshelsong. I'm glad everything came back ok. Congrats on the boy :)

I take back everything I said the other day. I could really feel my uterus last night (which made me feel better) and today I have a lot of stretching/pulling sensations in my lower abdomen. I had it a couple of weeks ago also. So I know there is some growing going on in there.


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## Fern81

Congrats on your baby boy Myshel! Such a blessing!! 

Happy birthday Froggy hun, are you 29 or 30 today? Hope the year ahead is full of blessings and happiness.

Nursery colors etc: mine will be blue (or turquoise) and grey/brown regardless because blue is my favourite colour! 

2have - how are you doing today?

Rq- those days are so reassuring. I think Froggy mentioned earlier that she believes baby goes through growth spurts? Maybe we have uterus growth spurts coupled with hiding-behind-bloat days because I definitely experience the same as you some days.

Thank heavens it's Friday! SLEEP.


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## Myshelsong

Hahaha Rebecca I meant light grey with pink and white accents.... Instead I gave you my boy idea with the blue! Omg I have blue on the brain lol. Sorry.


Blue is also my favourite colour. I think I want to do a four toned mountain mural in the background, then do a light grey for three walls. Or i have no idea

Happy Birthday!!! Any big plans today? I love the idea of the "Oh the Places you'll go. So excited for your guys!


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## 2have4kids

Hi Fern & ladies, doing ok thx. We talked with no resolution last night so DH booked us counselling. Then this morning we were going to go out for brunch when my tire ran flat. Turns out it's not the tire, the rum is damaged and $1000+ for a new one. Darned Acura parts! Can't wait to get an SUV. DH called around and got us some 7-seater SUV's that we were looking at purchasing to use from dealerships over the weekend. Saves us from renting a car :dance: so he's off running errands right now sorting that all out. 

I hate complications! How's everyone else doing? Weekend plans?

Edit: I justbooked my next scan, Sept 27...that's ages away!


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## Prayingforno1

Ellecain-Congrats on a great scan!

Myshelsong-Congrats on you boy!! Yey gender announcements are so exciting. Are you now on additional supplements as your numbers were low?

Froggy-Happy Birthday!! I would never let my hubby dress me lol

2have-So sorry you are having issues with DH. I would have been pissed as well. It's actually disrespectful and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want you to do that to him. I hope your counselling help work things out. 

It must be the time for husbands to drive us crazy as mine is driving me up the wall. He hired a company to do some touch ups with smoothing the ceiling in our kitchen. They told him it would take 1 day so I come home today (day 2) and my full kitchen is still covered in plastic and now they are saying they don't expect to be finished until Monday. The only thing I said to DH was wow that's disappointing because 1 day is now turning into 5. Well why did I say that he just snaps and says what do I expect him to do if they say they need more time.WTH!! I came home to relax if I needed some obviously hormonal person snapping at me and stressing me out I should have just stayed at work. Smt.

No weekend plans for me I actually got someone to come in tomorrow to clean the full house for me since the last time I did that I had terrible back pain. Now that we are partially under construction and this being a dusty job this seems like a total waste. Have a great weekend everyone and don't party too hard Froggy :)


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## Rq120

Weekend plans - sleep in tomorrow!!! Saturday I work at the hospital (PRN job) to make extra money to pay off the IVF costs. I hope to be debt free except for our house by the time the babies come. I get a weekend differential and an evening differential so it's worth the extra money. DH will go grocery shopping while I work. Sunday will be a rest day.


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## ES89

Hi all 
Congratulations myshelsong on your little boy &#128153; really pleased for you! 
Glad you scan went well Ellie, it's really is such a relief to see that heart beating away! 
Hope you had a good birthday froggy! 
I had my scan yesterday, what an experience! Seeing your baby's heart beating away especially after the bleed I had a couple of weeks ago. I'm 7 weeks and 3 days, estimated due date 28th March (my birthday is the 29th) we were surprised there wasn't 2 in there as everyone joked with us that we have tried so hard for 1 we would end up with 2 plus my mum was a twin.
I've officially been discharged from my fertility clinic now so I need to get in touch with my local midwife x


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## elliecain

ES, congratulations on a great scan! I can't get enough of the sight of that little flicker of a heartbeat. I videoed it and I just keep watching it over and over. How sweet that you are due so close to your own birthday. What a birthday present that will be!

Myshelsong, congratulations on the all clear and on your little boy! Now you can relax and enjoy your pregnancy. I feel like the all clear is the last big hurdle.

On that note, I've booked in for a harmony test on 25th August. Although the NHS does a free NT scan at 12 weeks, my age will mean that it won't really be that conclusive anyway. I'll come out fairly high risk for Downs. I won't be able to cope with that stress, so DH and I have decided to pay for Harmony. The bonus is that we will find out the gender! Apparently, the result comes back in about 5 days, so I should get my all clear around 11 weeks. I'll then have the NHS scan but it won't matter what that tells me. I'm going to announce the pregnancy before I go back to school in early September. It's all so exciting!!!


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## Fern81

Ahh great news ES! Glad you're doing so well :).

2have - hope the counselling helps your husband to gain some perspective. Sheesh that's expensive car parts!? Hope you get the suv sooner rather than later!

Praying - home renovations suck big time. Almost everything in our house has to be renovated and it's a source of a lot of stress related fights for us. I feel your pain. Could the cleaner come on Tuesday? Paint/plaster dust in and on everything is the pits, sorry hun!

Rq- great plan to get debt free.

Is anyone doing a gender reveal party? We are doing a tea the Sunday after the gender scan with just close family (the rest can find out via whatsapp). I'm thinking of making each couple a card with a scan pic & the baby's name and the meaning of the name. I'll hand each card out in an envelope and then everyone can open it at once while we maybe record their reactions. That way we get the possible name criticism issue out of the way too, as I doubt my family will criticize our chosen names in front of the inlaws and vice versa.

One snag in my plan is that dh's 3 brothers are all rough unmannered alcoholics in my opinion, especially two of them who look like they never take a bath (dh's NOT like that!). So I might "forget" to invite them, or state clearly on their invite (which I'll only send the night before) that it's an alcohol-free tea party and dress code semi formal (even though its not, just to get them to bath and wear clean clothes) lol they'll think I'm stuck up but who cares.


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## Fern81

Ellie- hope all is well and that you can conclusively find out your risk factors. Aahh you may find out your baby's gender before I do!


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## Myshelsong

Ellie, thats what we did the Harmony test! Came back in about 9 days for us, but really could have been our Drs office that just didn't get back in touch with me fast.

Praying. Just the normal prenatal for me. Low results mean the chance of downs or other issues are very low. 1/10000 as per our blood chronological test. So very great news. 

Wow husbands be crazy, mine isn't driving me crazy crazy but he is feeling sick, and for some reason I have no patience with that right now. 

The kitchen Reno is the worst! We are thinking about doing our counter tops before the boy comes but not sure if we are going to have time or if I can handle it lol. We will see, but that seems like a long time for a ceiling smooth. 

Fern, just don't invite the siblings invite the parents only. Or just don't invite them I am sure they won't care.

Yay good scans ladies, so exciting to see heartbeats!

RQ sounds like a great relaxing weekend. 

We are going to a very casual reception for my cousin today who is getting married.
I had the worst sleep last night, up and down at least six times for no reason other than my body hates me. Had weird dreams about baby switching posits and me being able to feel it. Then woke up with lightning crotch! Wtf anyone else get lightning crotch already? It was really disturbing lol.


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, happy birthday for yesterday, I hope you had a lovely day. 

Myshel, arh congratulations on your little boy, enjoy choosing your colours for the nursery. I haven't even thought about what unisex colours I will use yet. I will start doing some research after my 20 week scan. 

ES89, fab news on the scan, that flicker is amazing, glad everything went well. 

Ellie, I don't blame you for having the harmony test, they are 99% accurate so will definitely put your mind at rest. My nuchal scan came back at very low risk so I didn't have one in the end but then again my donor was 13 years younger than me. 

2have, sorry about the car, it's one thing after another isn't it. I hope you get a new one sorted asap. That's another thing we need to think about is getting a family car, we only have one between us at the moment. I like that DH has booked counselling, it sounds like he is tying to put this right.

Fern, I would be a bit reluctant to invite the BIL, you don't want to be worry about them when it's your special tea party, can you get away with not inviting them? If not then I think your idea of setting down rules is the best idea. 

Praying, 5 days does seem a long time to do a ceiling! It sounds like DH knows this and he took it out on you. I hope it doesn't take much longer and you have a clean and orderly house again soon. 

We brought a house 2 years ago that needs quite a lot of work doing to it. We were not expecting it to take so long and so much money to fall pregnant so the main extension has had to take a backseat unfortunately. Frustrating buy maybe a wise idea.

Today, I have rearranged a few things in the house, now we are not doing the main work to the house I am making another room into the dining room and going to try get the rest of the house done, I want to make it as comfy as possible for when baby arrives and the big work can take place in a couple of years when we get the money together again. Tomorrow I have an all day wedding, it's 2 hour drive away and I am getting tired thinking about having to be out all day. I am sure it will be fine and DH has already warned the bride and groom that we may not be staying for the evening reception.

Have a fab weekend everyone X


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## Fern81

Dh says I have to invite them. So I'll try to make it clear they are to behave in front of my family. 

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I felt baby kick or punch yesterday :) I had a coffee and was sitting on the porch, quietly perusing bnb ;) when I felt one distinct tap below my belly button. Then only some flutters later that night. I've only felt something a handful of times but I'm pretty sure about that tap yesterday! 

Phew pinkie that sounds tiring! Are you feeling a bit better ms wise?

Myshel- hope you enjoyed the wedding!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I've been really lazy, watching tv (Olympics, "the martian" movie last night which I loved, Grey's anatomy marathon today) and cleaning & cooking a bit in between. I tried to do a bikini wax yesterday, epic fail. For the past 5 years I've waxed everything off, every 3 weeks; and yesterday was the first time I couldn't reach everywhere due to the bump! And [email protected] it suddenly hurts a lot! So looks like the "down-there" area will have a revised waxing regime until a few months after giving birth lol!


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## nimbec

Hi everyone I'm so sorry I've been so rubbish keeping in touch! It's no excuse I know but things have been SO busy here, I've been trying to get on top of work since being off in hospital and had some fairly big stresses (work) which I've been trying to remain calm about! I am reading and thinking of everyone even though I'm not posting! 

Family politics is such a nightmare, no easy answer just try and make it on your terms the best you can, I sometimes feel better that way as I'm sort of in control of the situation...or so I think &#128514;. 

So pleased everyone is having lovely scans! I also saw baby last Thursday and heard heartbeat just an amazing sound!!!!

Ellie can I be cheeky and ask how much your test cost - the one in Cardiff is £500 and I'm wondering if it's worth a trip over the bridge &#128514;. 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies sorry I've been missing since Friday. Busy weekend with family. Traveled today a friends wedding so I just got to the hotel. I'm utterly exhausted so I'll nap a little before doing some touristy things here in New Jersey. The wedding is tomorrow night and were staying until Tuesday. I'm with my mom and sister. Left DH at home caring for DD he is not thrilled ;)


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## Rq120

Today is rest day. I worked at the hospital yesterday (extra job). I'm going grocery shopping here in a min with DH. Leftovers for dinner so after the grocery shopping is done it's being lazy the rest of the day. Trying to get all the laziness in that I can before we become parents. It has been raining all day today and yesterday. Yuck!


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## froggyfrog

I will read and respond to everyone in a little bit, I just wanted to pop on and show you all my little guy!


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## froggyfrog




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## elliecain

Nimbec, £440 without scan, £490 with scan. They require a dating scan if you've not had one yet, because you need to be confirmed over 10 weeks.
https://www.somersetearlyscans.co.uk/harmony/

Froggy, cool picture. Hello baby boy!


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## Rq120

Froggy - so sweet!


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## rebecca822

Lovely froggy, love those 4d's!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, how is everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend. 

RQ the plan to pay off the fertility debt sounds good. It'll allow you to enjoy LO more stress free. 

Rebecca enjoy the wedding. Yay for husbands!

Ellie those scan prices are outrageous! I hope you ladies have ither options, is there a public healthcare option?

Praying, it's really best to get the renos done now. Once baby is here you won't want construction crews on your home. We did major remodelling when DD was 3 months old. Hardwood floors redone & baseboards, new granite kitchen island, remodelled master bath & hot tub area, painting. We went to Banff national park while the worst of it was being done but got home with no furniture in the house except our mattress. It was challenging to say the least. 

Fern, best of luck with the tea. I like your idea of including 'semi-formal dress' in the bil's invites. I have a tool of a chauvinist pig for a bil too, you can't pick yourfamilybut you can manage them! Gl.

ES congrats on the scan, it's the best feeling seeing that heartbeat!

Pinkie enjoy your wedding and home - rearranging/decorating.

Nimbec & Beemack how are you doing? 

Froggy what a great birthday present - love the 4D scans. 

Now who did I miss, I'm sure I missed someone! We did a lovely drive to Banff in a loaner test drive vehicle that we got from a dealership. We definitely have to get a 7-seater. I can't reach the babies from the front in their Diono car seats while they face backwards as the seats are too high. One of us will sit in the last row and feed them/ keep them happy when we're on long haul trips. It also leaves more room for skiis, stroller, and stuff if we need the room going to the mountains. 

Now that I'm off prednisone I'm def feeling nausia when / before eating and I get dizzy just after eating from low blood pressure. I think all of the blood rushes to my stomach. I've been trying to eat small but I find I'm just constantly having to eat. I haven't gained anything more than when I checked 3 weeks ago, still 9 pounds over starting weight.


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## elliecain

2have, no, I explained badly! 

The £440 is for the Harmony blood test and that's quite reasonable, as it tests the DNA from the placenta in the mother's blood. A dating scan at the same time adds £50, which is really good. Public healthcare in the UK is called the NHS and it doesn't cover Harmony yet. The only reason I'm doing Harmony is my age. The NT result will be screen positive, whatever the thickness, because the odds of Trisomy in my age group is higher than the cut off for a positive... 

The NHS gives 2 free scans, one at 12 weeks (with an NT scan and a different, not so reliable blood test) and another one at 20 weeks, the anatomy scan. If you've done IVF, you have an additional one at 6/7 weeks (viability scan).

I didn't get IVF funded on the NHS because I had a fluke natural chemical pregnancy last year, so they decided I'm not infertile, despite all the immune issues we both have. I started fighting the decision, but I'm 39 and time is not on my side. The NHS is strapped for cash and, to be honest, was set up to help ill people get well. It's not easy to get any NHS help with infertility, in my experience. My parents agreed to lend/give us the money for the IVF so we just got on with it. We were extremely lucky that it worked first time, as credit cards were going to be the option for IVF 2, and it costs £6,500.

Anyway, the reassurance scan I paid for the other week was £85, which isn't too bad. I was sad that I couldn't get a scan paid for by the NHS since I've already spent so much, but I've had to lower my expectations and dig deep so often in those process, that I'm now resigned to it.

By the way, I'm dreading ending my prednisolone. It's been amazing for my skin... I have eczema and I used to get sore, itchy, red skin sound my mouth most of the time. We reckon it was an allergy but couldn't do much about it. I hated it so much. Since taking pred, it's not flared up once. I love it! I'm going to try to get referred to an immunologist to look at other treatment options, as I think it is closely linked to my infertility. My system was flooded with histamine and my immune system was in overdrive. Now, it's all calm! I've gained a lot of weight on pred which is tough for me (I used to have anorexia and this weight gain is a bit of a headf*** to be honest, especially as I'd already gained loads on Clomid), but I have to just put up with it for my baby's sake. So I'll be happy to stop gaining so fast (I'll be fine with normal pregnancy gain just not this rapid fatness), but I'm worried it's been masking my nausea so I'll get pukey and also my skin will start being mean again when I stop. I stop the day after I return to school!


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## 2have4kids

Ellie, my sister has anorexia, it never really goes away does it, you just manage it throughout life. It sounds like you have a good grasp on your priorities, babies health is #1:thumbup: I lost 80 pounds 5+ years ago and am terrified of gaining too much or having it get out of control again. Working out and eating low carb is how I maintain and withnot being able to work out my entire 1st tri AND having low blood pressure I feel absolutely terrible right now. Weak and out of breath all the time. Workouts help immensely with low blood pressure so now that the sch's are gone I've been gently doing more fitness-wise.

Those costs aren't so bad and I would absolutely pay for the Harmony test too if these embryos were from our old bodies @ 40 and 45. In fact my threshold is 35, I think I read trisomy/Downs and other chromosomal issues effect 1 in 5 embryos. Most times our bodies are smart and kick them out in the form of mc or chemical but some make it through. @ 40 the chances are 1 in 3, there's no way I would go into a pregnancy without ensuring I know things are ok/being prepared for age-related outcomes.


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## froggyfrog

Fern how exciting that you have been feeling baby so much!!! I'm definitely jealous. I feel like he is just teasing me by letting me feel a little something every now and then! Oh and I turned 29!

Myshel I love the idea of a mountain painted on the wall, that sounds beautiful! 


Thanks ladies for the comments on our photo , he is so cute! He seems to have a thing about having his hands up to his face. This picture was taken while he was putting his hands up to his face. We got some good shots that I'm waiting to have emailed to me. I was paranoid that maybe they read me the wrong sex of the wrong embryo from my chart(silly I know) so I had them double check for me! He had his knees under him and was laying with his butt in the air and there his peepee was hanging down!! I know it's early, but I'm so certain he is going to be a little dh jr. The shape of his eyes and his little nose already look like his daddy!


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## froggyfrog

2have, I have never heard of fitness helping low blood pressure. I have syncope, which is where I get sudden drops in my blood pressure and it causes me to faint and I have even had seizures from it. No doctor has ever told me to exercise to help it. I was always told to increase my salt intake and electrolyte intake and to be careful when working out.


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## Prayingforno1

Lovely scan Froggy, look at the little hand :)!!

Hope everyone is having an awesome day so far. 1 more week until our next scan. It feels like forever and I can't wait.


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## Fern81

Aaww froggy the scan is amazing!! So much detail! <3 congrats :). Yep it's cool to feel him/her but it's only happened about 5 times total and some of those could have been my imagination lol... but I really felt that distinct tap/kick on Saturday so I count that one as a definite. I know my placenta is far to the top of my uterus so it shouldn't mask too much movement. One of these days we are going to complain about all the kicks! :) 

Praying- will you be finding out the gender then? Sorry if I've already asked, my memory is mush lol. Is your kitchen ceiling done?

Ellie & 2have - I'm also hating the weight gain. My bump is enormous & I look about 6 months along. Lots of people have started commenting on my bump & asking me if it's a boy/girl... obviously I look far enough along to know! I've also suffered with various eating disorders (anorexia then emotional eating etc) all my life & really struggled with Clomid related weight gain. I had just lost 13 pounds when I got my bfp and am now the size of a mountain which freaks me out. I can't imagine getting any bigger but there is still 25 weeks to go! Dh keeps reminding me it's normal & healthy to gain weight but it's super hard on me. If I could eat less carbs, I would but I still feel like I'm going to pass out if I don't eat carbs 3x a day. It sounds really selfish to be so worried about my weight but I can't help it. Plus I have almost no time to work out atm, too busy at work! Eeekk!

Ellie- is it perioral dermatitis? I get it and can share what works for me if I get a flare up.

Sooo we had 500 mm high rolls of barbed wire installed all around our property now it looks like a prison! We found out where the thieves got in, under an electric fence & over pointy (devil's fork?) fencing... this is the third layer of fencing and hopefully will keep all but the most determined thieves out!

My bladder has started doing that irritating thing where I have to pee every 10 seconds and it doesn't empty properly lol not fun when I have to teach for 8 hrs a day! I had to run to the loo 4 times in 1 hour during one student's lesson this morning... hectic!


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## elliecain

It doesn't seem to be perioral dermatitis, I took a look at Google... In fact, mine is often helped by steroid ointments and PD seems to be made worse by them. It doesn't come up as red bumps, just I get extremely itchy skin around my mouth. I get it in other areas too but the mouth is the worst.

https://i68.tinypic.com/2gvj3hi.jpg
This was a typical flare up... You can see why I love prednisolone!!! DH is convinced it's an allergy but I've tried all kinds of exclusion diets and some seem to help (no bread seemed to be a starter) but not consistently. The only thing that has halted it is prednisolone.

The weight thing is tough. I've come such a long way since my anorexia got me admitted to an EDU. I have been a healthy weight for nearly 5 years now and I will never go back there. I resent the thoughts because I've embraced body positivity and moved on. 5 cycles of Clomid, IVF and weeks of 20mg prednisolone have taken their toll on my body and I'm in the overweight category for the first time in decades. It's really tough, but I know why I'm doing this and I want a baby infinitely more than I want to be skinny. When I get a bit wobbly, I remember how desperately unhappy I was at my lowest weight and how insanely happy I am today.

I'm going to buy maternity clothes quite soon. I am happy to embrace the bump body!


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## Fern81

Ellie that looks sooo uncomfortable, poor you! I'm keeping my fx that it doesn't flare up when you stop the prednisone. Also, like the way you've summarized that last bit. I've never been happy with my body but I'm very happy about my baby!


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## 2have4kids

froggyfrog said:


> 2have, I have never heard of fitness helping low blood pressure. I have syncope, which is where I get sudden drops in my blood pressure and it causes me to faint and I have even had seizures from it. No doctor has ever told me to exercise to help it. I was always told to increase my salt intake and electrolyte intake and to be careful when working out.

"For people with low blood pressure, exercise can trigger the symptoms associated with a drop in blood pressure. However, this doesn't mean these people should avoid exercise  in fact, it's important to keep physically fit, which will help circulate blood around the body. Having strong calf muscles, for example, can help blood flow back to your heart, so lack of exercise can make symptoms worse." https://www.webmd.boots.com/heart-disease/guide/exercise-low-blood-pressure

I was told moderate exercise helps, drinking lots of water, and having enough salt. When your circulation is good your blood returns quicker than if you have poor cardio/circulation. Right now my symptoms are definitely worse than the first pregnancy when I worked out almost everyday.


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## 2have4kids

Froggy & Ellie, just keep focussing on that "and how insanely happy I am today." bit. That's all that counts, you can focus on your body once your baby comes. Do things that make you happy and healthy in the mean time like walking and eating healthy for you and baby. Remember so much will fall off right after birth! I lost 20 pounds in 1 day with DD. It's amazing! 

Ellie does the Polysporin 1% cortisone help the skin issue? I have excema now and then and this usually clears it up. Prednisone might feel great when it helps with so many immune issues but it robs your bones of calcium and puts you at risk for osteoporosis, among other things. I don't know about your pills too but mine weren't coated and they were the most awful, hideous tasting little horrid pills I've ever had. Good riddance!


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## Myshelsong

Froggy that scan is amazing. Looking great!

Ellie ahh, that looks itch and painful. So Annoying! Hope it heals itself soon.

Fern, hope it keeps the bad guys out for you!

Taking it easy today. I had an infant shoot yesterday and it took so long I can home and just crashed! So today is relax and clean day, tomorrow I will edit images all day. Ha a w doing on Saturday, hope I can handle it with this exhaustion


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## froggyfrog

2have, i would just be careful. Of course moderate exercise is good, but don't overdo it because getting dizzy and passing out will cause a fall that could potentially hurt you seriously or hurt the baby. I have hit my head pretty hard passing out from low blood pressure. I now know the symptoms and if I start feeling it coming on I immediately get on the ground and put my feet up on the wall to make the blood return to my heart per many doctors orders.


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## froggyfrog

Also drinking Gatorade while exercising will help too


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## Prayingforno1

We do want to find out the sex but for some reason I thought my doctor said it is not really clear until 20 weeks? I think I have some additional blood work to do at my next visit as well.

The ceiling work is done BUT the guy did such a shoddy job we will have to hire someone to go over some of his work :( . He even took total advantage of us with the pricing because before he started he told us $700 then on Saturday we just happened to be talking to him about some other stuff we were considering having him work on and he said well if I add that in with the balance you have for me...We were like what balance he said oh he under estimated the work and would have to charge $500 more. DH agreed and told him to just finish what he's working on so we can have our kitchen back and then yesterday when we gave him the $500 extra he tried to say he needed an additional $300 (which we didn't give him) but come on who does business like that? We ended up spending $1200 on a job that he originally quoted at $700. Some people can be so dishonest but one thing for sure we will never get him to do anything for us again.


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## elliecain

Myshel, that was an old flare up to demonstrate what it used to do. Not had one since taking prednisolone. 
I bet the infant shoot was fun, though hard work. You'll be able to get the best pictures of your little one when he's here!

Yes, 2have, the pills do taste absolutely vile. I have to fill my mouth with water first, then drop pills in and swallow, being really careful not to let them touch the side of my mouth of my tongue!!! I'm not planning on staying on them after this 12 week cycle, but I have seen some other options that I'm going to talk to an immunologist about. It might be that, if I can control my skin and thereby my immune response, I could conceive naturally next time (DH's antibodies are not 100%).
1% cortisone ointment can be effective, but it stops working after a while and I don't like the way it heals the eczema with one day of cracking, peeling skin that comes off and it's clear underneath. Doesn't feel healthy at all!

Praying, your builder sounds like a cowboy. Shoddy work and over estimate? That's not on.

Froggy, the fainting doesn't sound like fun, poor you.


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, what a lovely picture of your little boy, it's amazing what they can do nowadays. 

Ellie, that looks pretty sore, I hope your immunologist can help to keep it at bay, it does sound like something is making it flare up. Oh those steroid are awful, I took them with one of my cycles and couldn't wait to get off them. 

Praying, I am sorry to hear your builder was such an ass. It's people like him that give other tradesmen a bad name. I would name and shame him somewhere so it doesn't happen to someone else. We are trying to find a gardener at the moment and it's so hard deciding who to trust, unfortunately we don't have any recommendations and have to hope we chose right.

Fern, I hope all the extra fencing and wire keeps the trouble away, sounds like you have really stepped up the security. Having that little baby to now think about you'll do whatever you can to keep your family safe. 

Myshel, enjoy your relaxing day. 

Rebecca, have a fab weekend away and enjoy the wedding. I am sure DH and DD are enjoying QT together.

2have, a 7 seater is like a minibus ha ha. But I am sure you are loving it. Hope the blood pressure stays stable, sounds like you have things under control. 

I know I have missed some people, sorry, I can't go back any further than I have. I hope everyone is doing well and babies are all coming along nicely. I am finding this week 12-20 a little boring because nothing is happening, I am use to appointments, scan, blood tests etc it seems so weird not to have anything. Plus baby is so small I can see or feel it yet, I am 15 weeks now so fingers crossed in a few more weeks things will get exciting. 

We went to the wedding yesterday which was nice but a very long day, I feel exhausted today. Although no time for rest because I've had to get the house ready as I have sister, sister in law, nieces and nephews coming to stay for a couple of days (I must be mad). I will catch up again in a few days xx


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## 2have4kids

froggyfrog said:


> 2have, i would just be careful. Of course moderate exercise is good, but don't overdo it because getting dizzy and passing out will cause a fall that could potentially hurt you seriously or hurt the baby. I have hit my head pretty hard passing out from low blood pressure. I now know the symptoms and if I start feeling it coming on I immediately get on the ground and put my feet up on the wall to make the blood return to my heart per many doctors orders.

I agree, I can sense that feeling well before I ever black out. I can feel the shallow rapid heartrate and by the time my vision starts getting starry I'm on the ground breathing deeply. I've only had to put my head down at work after lunch, eating seems to bring it on the worst for me. I've been in the gym a handful of times since the 13 week mark and felt awesome. I don't do huge intense workouts or weights, just slow and easy going, enough to sweat and get the circulation going.:thumbup:


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie3 said:


> Plus baby is so small I can see or feel it yet, I am 15 weeks now so fingers crossed in a few more weeks things will get exciting.

Enjoy hosting Pinkie. You'll be able to feel your baby guaranteed between week 19-21. It'll feel like gas is wriggling down but it's actually baby. I've felt something when I've been ultra still in the wee hours in the morning. But very far and few between. The excitement picks up with kicks, hiccups and when finally DH can feel the bump move. I have some video of DD kicking towards the final weeks of my pregnancy last time. I always thought it looked weird and alien-like when it was other people's pregnancies but it's the coolest thing when it's your own!:happydance:


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## Rq120

Hi all. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm struggling with my Monday. I was very tired yesterday and it has continued into today. I also have had a headache all afternoon, but I think it is starting to get better. 

I'm looking forward to Friday. DH and I are taking off the day for our 10 year anniversary.


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## Fern81

Pinkie you have too much energy lol! Hope you have a nice time. :)

2have and froggy the fainting/feeling like a blackout sounds super scary! Is it worse now in your pregnancies? 

Praying - oh my gosh that sucks big time! That's such a rip off!! Well at least you didn't get him to do any other rooms before you knew what a jerk he was. 

Sorry about the fatigue rq. I feel exactly like that today. TIRED. This trimester is worse (fatigue wise) than the first so far!?


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## Prayingforno1

Thanks ladies yes I am glad we didn't get him to do any other work. I guess you live and learn:)

How much weight has everyone put on so far? In my first trimester (although my breasts look and feel like watermelons) I only put on 3.5lbs. I am interested to see how much I've gained over the past 4 weeks when I weigh in on Monday, I haven't been eating alot but I what I have been eating has not been the healthiest. I can still wear 2 of my regular work pants and a few blouses (not the ones that have buttons, my watermelons have those bursting open) but I do have a few maternity pieces as well which I may start wearing soon.


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## froggyfrog

Praying I have gained 8 lbs total. I feel like it's horrible, but dh assures me I'm fine. He said "your almost halfway done right?" I said yes, and he said so if you gain another 9 or 10 lbs your still under the recommended. So I guess he is right.


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## Prayingforno1

aww how sweet of your hubby Froggy. I think that weight gain is normal. I think mine was so low because i've been nauseous and wasn't eating alot but the nausea has gotten less frequent the past few days so I'm sure that will all change.


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## froggyfrog

He really is super sweet :) he is a big tough guy, and only I get to see his sweet side and I love it!


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## Rq120

Fern - I completely agree. I started feeling tired at the end of my first trimester and it has continued into the second. My DH has even remarked that I'm getting all my symptoms the second tri. My boobs have been way more tender the last few weeks then they were in the first tri. Weird!

Last night I had a really upset tummy when I went to bed. I didn't pee much overnight and I woke up at 4:30am with cramping. My whole belly was hard (just not the lower portion, which is normal). Since I have been awake this morning I'm feeling fine. My headache has finally gone away and tummy is fine with no cramping. It was kinda scary.


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## Rq120

I have gained close to 15lbs so far :( but honestly I'm not sure how much was from several cycles of fertility treatments. I just know I have gained that much since earlier this year. However, my weight gain has slowed and I haven't actually gained any in the last 3 weeks.


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## Prayingforno1

Rq120 I'm sure the fertility treatments has a lot to do with plus plus wouldn't the expected weight gain be a bit different with twins vs a singleton?


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## froggyfrog

Rq, all of those hormones Def are playing a part in how we gain. 

Fern sorry I didn't respond, just read your post, but I haven't actually fainted in a very long time. I know the warning signs and am able to keep it under control. It all started when I was around 13. I had a seizure and ended up in the hospital and they did test after test on me. They did a test called a tilt table test, and it's where you lay on the table and it tilts to make you blood rush to your head and they monitor your vitals and basically watch to see if your blood pressure drops and you faint. Well mine dropped and I fainted so they diagnosed my episodes as syncope. I had another seizure 3 years later and have fainted a few times in between and after the second seizure.


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## Myshelsong

I have gained about three pounds but I am overweight to begin with, thanks depression and hormones! My goal is minimal weight gain, But in honesty I don't care how much I gain as long as I am getting nutrients that I need. Hubs doesn't care either, he is excited about getting a round belly to cuddle with.

16 weeks today! Yay, time is flying by and being crazy slow at the same time. Anyone else feel this way?


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## Fern81

11 pounds :(
The weight gain seems to have slowed down a bit, that was all in the first tri. My bmi was on the low end of normal when I got my bfp due to a strict diet and HIIT so dh says I have more weight to gain but I think he's just being nice lol. My weight gain at the beginning was probably due to constant insane hunger... which I still have so who knows where I will end up!

Wow froggy that must have been terrifying as a teen. Hope you never have a seisure again!

Spring is definitely here and it's super lovely. My favourite season. Things between dh and I have been better since starting love languages and love dare. I feel safer with the jail around our property. So for now the wheel has turned and I'm very happy! Thank heavens life ALWAYS has a bright side after the storms.


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## Rq120

Myshelsong - yes, I feel that way about time also. I want it to be next year already, but I'm also trying to enjoy being pregnant. I'm also trying to enjoy life with just DH and I. Getting all the sleep I can and going out on date nights. I'm afraid it will be here before we know it and I'll be scrambling.


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## elliecain

6 pounds and I'm only 9 weeks! I blame the prednisolone, as I am hungry all the time! I gained most of it during the week we were on holiday, so it's definitely not baby. I'd already gained about 15 pounds since my cp last year (comfort eating, Clomid, depression).

It's all ok though girls. Whatever we gain, it's all good!


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## 2have4kids

Fern yes thank goodness that sun is back shining on you now! I hate rough periods, they're so unnecessary!

I have terrible head hunger, I want to eat carby food and I try, I had pizza, cauliflower soup that mom made, breakfast sandwich, I have to run and brush my teeth it tastes so bad. I really need that 5 month diabetes check. I asked the doc last time and she said she won't test me for another couple of months. I told her I definitely have GD but she didn't seem to flinch. I can't see how I'm going to gain much in the next tri with these horrible food aversions. I was dying for ice cream after last pregnancy I made DH go out and buy 3 different flavours. So the 9 lb gain so far will probably stay the same for a while.

This first tri has flown by fast but I think being at work now the next tri will plod on slowly and painfully:haha:
I always gained weight with ivf from depression and hormones, how can you not? Those hormones we have to take tell our bodies to plump up in prep for babies. And then if/when it fails dumps us off into complete abyss. It's a terrible process really. You either get the gift of a lifetime with a baby or nothing but debt and feeling horrible with the hormonal roller coaster. IF is not fair.


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## Fern81

Thanks 2have, how are you and your hubby doing?
How is everyone else doing on the husband front; myshel is yours feeling better?

I agree it feels like time is flying and crawling at the same time. I wanted to slow time down but since getting the low PAPP-A diagnosis I've been nervous and really just want it to be January already so I can have a living baby. There is still so much that can go wrong with baby's growth etc, hope it all keeps going ok but still it's a bit nerve wracking!

Speaking of which how are you beemeck? Any updates?


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## Myshelsong

Hubs is feeling better, but now my parents have a flu or something so I am avoiding them. Not going to get sick over here!
I am feeling good, hungry and lazy all at once. Not really fancying sugary foods, but protein and cheese is what my body wants all day long! Barely want any veggies, but I know I have to eat them. Slowly editing pictures today and doing some advertising for work online. So now just watching some tv until dinner lol. I can't wait!!! This little dude is always hungry.


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## 2have4kids

Fern, he came with DD and took me to lunch yesterday too. We're always good until he screws me over again. Until he says he'll be home at 10pm and shows up at midnight, until he books a flight to visit his a-hole brother in Vancounver and gives me a day's notice. Otherwise we operate on a completely great level day to day. And it could be months between his jerky moments with lots of lovely time inbetween. That's why counselling is necessary. He truly doesn't believe these things are anything serious. For me, it's almost divorce time as it feels like a complete betrayal. It's like he's schizophrenic for a few hours out of every 6 months. Really irritating because I have no trust for him.

Myshelsong, and protein is great for your little dude, so it's awesome that you crave it. Is it just me or does anyone else think that the Olive Garden's salads are the best? I brought one home each for DH and I last night and if he hasn't eaten his by tonight...I make no guarantees that I can keep my hands off it!


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## Prayingforno1

2have I love the Olive Gardens salads as well. I think it must be the dressing yum yum I can eat one now :)


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## 2have4kids

The dressing is awesome for sure! I ran out last night and put lemon on the last bit, wasn't quite the same. Next time I'll order the jumbo salad instead of 2 single orders, nearly the same price but double the salad=double the pleasure for double the babies:haha:.


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## froggyfrog

Fern and 2have, I'm glad that things are going better with your dh's. And I LOVE olive garden salad!!!

Myshel, stay away from the sickness! ! I really hope you are able to steer clear!

We got our car seat in today! I got an extra base for dh's truck too so that we aren't trying to switch back and forth.


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies, I just read through all the posts since Sunday. I'm too tired to comment since I just got home from my trip to New Jersey. My flight was delayed a bit too. I have work at 8am so I'm gonna hopefully get to sleep.

So far no baby bump yet. I keep expecting to see it but hasn't appeared yet. Oh, and I gained 5 pounds so far.


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## Fern81

No olive garden here! Looking forward to lots of summer smoothies and salads.

2have - glad it's going better for now but hope that the counselling helps with the random major problems. X

Rebecca do you have strong core muscles? :) 

2 weeks exactly until my next scan. 13,5 weeks until I'm basically done for the year! Counting the hours!!


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## rebecca822

Fern no I do not have strong core muscles although I wish I did.
What's happens in 13.5 weeks? How long is your break? 
I have a scan tomorrow to check on that membrane tear I had last week. Hopefully it has heeled. I don't have any more spotting since last week so that's a good sign.


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## Fern81

Rebecca- oh I hope it's all healed up! Enjoy your scan :). In about 13,5 weeks, all of my students will have finished their year end exams (our school year is Jan-Dec). That means my teaching for the year will be done. Some of the seniors are starting to talk about doing a few classes in Dec before my baby comes, (so that they don't fall behind when I can't teach for a month or so due to baby), but we'll see. The summer break is normally from the beginning of Dec until the first week of Jan but mine starts a bit earlier because I don't need to grade any papers, yay!


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## Myshelsong

Good luck Rebecca! I hope it is all healed up Hun, I know it is scary. Fingers crossed for you.

Fern, yay another scan! Keep relaxed for the next two weeks I am sure it is fine.

Had a kids photography session today, it was only half an hour but lots of fun and the kids were super easy. I am still editing the newborn session, but I was so exhausted today in the afternoon. It was crazy, just so exhausted and couldn't concentrate at all. Hoping to have them done by Saturday for their baby party but don't know if I will be able too.

I am trying to decide since we got the NIPT test, shOuld I do the secon test for the IPS test. It will happen about a week or two before the anatomy exam, so I am wondering if I should even bother... Any thoughts?


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## rebecca822

Myshelsong, I didn't do any extra testing since we wouldn't terminate the pregnancy if we got bad results. I feel like ignorance is bliss :)

Have you done newborn twins photo shoots? I keep looking for nice ideas to do for our newborn shoot. I've seen some really great work with twins.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong, I feel quite the opposite from Rebecca - it's a very personal decision. If the testing is free, whether you'd terminate or not, it's your duty as a parent to be prepared for a baby's health condition - they rely on you. But I'm quite opinionated in this as I've seen someone who chose the 'ignorance is bliss' route and had a steep learning curve, they weren't prepared to take care if their special needs baby. It's not fair to baby. I feel strongly that when we sign up to be parents, we accept all duties that come with the responsibility for caring for baby. Not knowing about major health concerns may put your mind at ease for a few months but in the long run it's potentially harmful to baby and you for not being prepared for that condition. In my mind it's like not vaccinating and then having to deal with say, bacterial meningitis. There was a preventative measure to be taken, and now, because baby wasn't cared for early on, a potential catastrophe has to be dealt with. When we sign up for kids, we sign up to do everything possible under the sun to care for them, ignorance is bliss doesn't fit with that paradigm in my mind.

Yay for more scans Fern. I still have to schedule my 18 week scan so it should be 4 weeks from now. It seems ages away!

Hi everyone, half the week is done thankfully. I'm excited, I have a massage booked tomorrow :dance::happydance:


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## elliecain

I feel the same way, 2have. Whatever I decide to do based on the Harmony result, I need to be forewarned. I'd want to know that I had the best paediatricians ready and that my house was properly kitted out and, most importantly, I'd want to read up on the condition and be emotionally ready. There is no way I could feel ready to take on a child with special needs if I didn't have plenty of time to prepare.


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## Fern81

Myshel I think that's a highly personal issue, as I see reading the different opinions on here. I would personally not do it if it costs extra, just because your other tests came back fine and it's just a week before the anatomy scan so it seems superfluous. However, if it will set your mind at ease then def go for it! :)

I have the morning off (working late tonight) and going to buy some spring flowers for the flower beds & veg seed and seedlings for my veg garden later. Gardening is one of my most favourite things to do and the gardener is here today to help with the heavy lifting and digging. Very stoked lol.


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## Fern81

Weighing in on testing vs no testing: 
I did the expensive NT scan and combined risk 10 week blood tests because I also want to be prepared in case the baby or I have health issues and need special care. We will have to save and plan for eventualities. My sil had a baby last year with a heart and lung defect; she was born prematurely and almost didn't survive. However, because sil knew about the baby's health problems way before the delivery, they had already consulted with a fetal cardiac surgeon and she delivered at a hospital in a different city with a unit specializing in fetal cardio-thoracic care. If she had been oblivious and had delivered her daughter at the hospital in her own city, things might have turned out very differently. After her very difficult experience, dh and I know we need to be prepared!

Now, because of the tests, I know about my diagnosis and that I'm at risk for high blood pressure, blood clots, have to watch baby's growth carefully etc., and I know to monitor my blood pressure. It's stressful to think about it BUT I'm glad that I can be proactive.


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## Myshelsong

Ok, sorry I feel I misspoke and opened a bag of worms. For the record, I think testing is great not because we would terminate, but to be prepared for the future. But I also have many friends who didn't and stand by their decision. I think like everything in pregnancy it is truly up to you.

I already got the all clear from the harmony test. 1/10000 low chances. 
However the free test has a second ultrasound at 16-18 weeks and blood work. So I am already feeling ok about baby being fine, just wondering if I should put myself through a second round of ultrasounds when I will be getting the 20 week ultrasound pretty soon after. Hubs can't come to the next one, he just can't keep taking the time off since we used most of it during the IUIs and IVF this year already.

Sounds great Fern, I didn't plant anything but garlic this year! Although our garden has asperagus that comes up every year which is delicious.
Rebecca, I have yet to new twins but I have so many ideas! My sister had twins and did it when they were a bit older. She did a cabbage patch theme it was hilarious.


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## 2have4kids

Oh I probably wouldn't in that case if you've already done Harmony. The Harmony test is much more conclusive than the NT + bloods and you'd just be taxing the healthcare system. I'm always conscientious about this in Canada as we're lucky to have universal healthcare. For example, when each FS asks for new STD panels, rather than get them to do it again, the window is usually 6 months internationally for when they need the tests done so I dig up my results and send them along to whomever needs them. That's happened twice now and I probably saved our medical system a few hundred by not making 2 extra doc appointments, and getting the lab twice over to do them. 

But I think the fetal testing can be almost as contentious as vaccinations. And as you may have heard in Calgary we had a couple who was criminally charged for the death of their little boy for a string of events that I view as a similar 'choice' situations...choosing not to vaccinate and then choosing homeopathic remedies to treat bacterial meningitis. Had the parents had bacterial meningitis and chose to take homeopathic remedies to treat themselves, that's their own prerogative but with a child...as the judge thought too, our duty as parents are to go with what the medical system offers in order to care for that child. And with vaccinations I absolutely LOVE what Australia has done. If you don't vaccinate, your child must be home schooled and you will no longer receive your child tax credit. There was talk of banning vaccinated children from school here but it hasn't happened yet. In no way is fetal testing as dangerous as choosing to not vaccinate but for me, it falls under those ethical choices we need to make as parents to care for our kids.


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## Myshelsong

I read the paper work wrong anyways, it is just a blood test for the second part so probably won't do it.
Booking my anatomy scan in a bit!!! Excited and freaking out at the same time,

I did pay attention the the meningitis case with the family. It broke my heart that that happened, obviously they did not intend for their child to die, but it happened due to negligence. Poor boy.


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## rebecca822

Maybe I came across too crazy of here. I'm all for doing best for baby. Most conditions can be detected on an ultrasound so if God forbid I were to be told that baby had some sort of heart defect I would make sure to be fully prepared and have the top pediatric cardiologist on speed dial. I know personally several ladies that were told their babies had life threatening conditions and they spent their pregnancy depressed, sick in worry and it was awful, and then the babies were born perfectly healthy. I believe there's a God up there who watches over us and I trust and pray he will do the best he can for my family.
And vaccines, I do every one of them. My aunt lost a 14 month old to meningitis, and he had all his vaccines. It was the saddest thing to see.


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## froggyfrog

I'm definitely a pro vaxer here too! I'm making anyone who comes to see the baby have a flu shot tdap vaccine at least until he gets his own at 3 months. Everyone has already been pretty warned lol. My dad thought I was being excessive, but I explained that infants get whooping cough and die from it, and he immediately said oh ok, I'll get mine then.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong said:


> I read the paper work wrong anyways, it is just a blood test for the second part so probably won't do it.
> Booking my anatomy scan in a bit!!! Excited and freaking out at the same time,
> 
> I did pay attention the the meningitis case with the family. It broke my heart that that happened, obviously they did not intend for their child to die, but it happened due to negligence. Poor boy.

I cried, it made me so upset to hear they used homeopathy, hot peppers, garlic and other home remedies when he was sick. I couldn't imagine what that must have been like feeling that ill and then having to eat that stuff. It still makes me upset. They're reviewing the whole homeopathy thing in Canada. They had a documentary on how they've got non-scientific claims on the packaging (this is false advertising under our legal system) so in the next 5 years my guess is much of it will be taken off the market.

Froggy good on you! I did the same thing when we had DD last year and will do the same when we have the twins. My mom is against the flu shot and I just told her it's not for you, it's for my baby. She's not really a science person though and it's hard to get her to understand that even though you're healthy, your body can be a host. It's lost on her, she'd rather pay attention to the negative fear mongering about what's in vaccinations. But with a choice to see the baby or not, she chose to get the flu shot and see the baby.


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## Rq120

2have - a massage sounds heavenly. I hope you really enjoy it.

My next MD appt is Monday and I will scheduled my anatomy scan then. We are going on vacation during week 20 so I'll schedule it right before or after our trip. I'll see what the options are on Monday.

Today is my Friday. I'm looking forward to it. DH and I are taking tomorrow off to celebrate out 10 year anniversary. We have a special night planned tonight and then I might drag him out shopping tomorrow. I have a work trip planned for 2 weeks and I need a pair of maternity dress pants.


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## froggyfrog

Happy anniversary RQ! I hope you have fun! My anatomy scan is on Sept 7th. My OB wanted me to do it with the MFM. She said that she has seen studies that show that IVF babies have a very slightly higher risk of a heart defect and the MFM has a more detailed machine. She said that overall heart defects are low in babies, but that IVF showed just to be a little bit higher and it's really just a precaution. I don't mind, it's in the same building as my OB so it's not like it's any inconvenience or anything. And then I will have my 20 week appointment the very next day with my OB office.


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## rebecca822

Guess what? We have a girl and a boy!!
Let's see if they change their minds again but I saw the little weenie so I'm convinced...
Membrane is thinner so that is good, it's still not completely gone.

Happy anniversary Rq! I hope you have an awesome time out.


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## 2have4kids

Happy anniversary RQ and enjoy your vaca!
Froggy frog, I'd do the extra scan technique to if offered.
Rebecca congrats, how perfect to have one of each! We're hoping for the same.
Fern I've had a garden for the past 15 years but these last two years have been so ivf and baby intensive I just had no time. We have rhubarb and green onion perennials that keep growing and I planted a row of asparagus but it never came up. I have a wonderful renter in our basement who's retired and planted the whole garden full of flowers in the absence of veggies. He also used to take care of our cats when we were away. It's always nice to have that extra hand when you need it but I too fully enjoy gardening and plan to do it with the kids when they're young as my mom did it with me. You probably are lucky to have a looooong growing season? We have 3 months to get it all in and out:haha: I can do 2 crops of buk choy because it grows so fast if I'm quick about it! And I've learned to line & interlace the garden with onion & garlic to naturally keep the bugs away.


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## Fern81

Myshel- no can of worms on my side, I find reading about other people's opinions very interesting. ;) 

Rq- happy anniversary! Your weekend sounds lovely and busy, enjoy!!

Rebecca - that would be awesome, one of each! Hope the babies have made up their minds now for your sake :) just kidding :) btw I share your belief in a God who carries us through all circumstances, good and bad. What a comfort. X

2have - I also wish I had more time for gardening. It makes me ridiculously happy. I would gladly spend all my money on plants if I could lol! The previous owners did NO gardening and it was basically dirt & weeds outside... I've changed so much already in a year; we have a nice veg garden, the start of a mini orchard, lots of new flowerbeds etc, GRASS.... I also cleaned and sorted out the pool! Dh does no work outside, it's all my pride and joy. But there is still a LOT to be done. I guess next year I'm going to neglect the garden a bit. Enjoy your massage I'm super jealous!


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## 2have4kids

Oh thanks ladies, the massage was SOOOO good. I realised how tired I am as I almost fell asleep, that never happens! 

Well Fern, your property value has likely gone up because you've spend so much TLC on the land- good on you! It's also nice that you can work on it on your own apart from DH, we all need space in long term relationships. We had a similar situation to you, the previous owners hacked all of the big gorgeous trees in our yard. Some were stumps, some they randomly chopped massive branches off and were lopsided. They also planted super invasive weeds as the folliage on them is nice (but the plants are horrendous!) So I dug out the trunks, nursed the trees back to health, bought a plum and pear tree, dug out a space for a garden and landscaped in a pathway along the side. DH built trellising along the top of our deck so that we're not like a fishbowl to the neighbours and I grew a massive vine with big blue flowers up the sides for shade & more privacy. It's easy to increase property value like that when it's so pleasurable to work in the garden and now is SO nice being out there with the baby. We also brought in mist sprayers that attach to the garden hose and fished them to the ceiling of the trellising. Baby was mystified by it on the hot days we had it going.


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## Rq120

Froggy - I have to get my anatomy scan done at the MFM also, but they said it was because of twins. 

Rebecca - congrats on the boy and girl. Oh what fun to have one of each. I can't wait until I find out what we are having.


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## rebecca822

Rq120 said:


> Froggy - I have to get my anatomy scan done at the MFM also, but they said it was because of twins.
> 
> Rebecca - congrats on the boy and girl. Oh what fun to have one of each. I can't wait until I find out what we are having.

When is your next scan?


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## Fern81

My dr is accredited to do fetal assessments and she also does her own anatomy scans; and if she is concerned she will send me to a mfm specialist to get a second opinion. I think I'm only getting my proper anatomy scan at 24 weeks though since I'm only having scans every 6 weeks for now. The scan in 12 days should be growth, cervical check and gender, whoop! 

2have - aren't decks the best!? We have a large porch outside the kitchen, with couches and tables (all second hand so we are restoring them bit by bit!) With a built in barbecue area. We've never entertained guests anywhere else. Mist sprayers sound like the perfect idea! I'm giving birth in summer and can just picture sitting out there with baby. :)

Happy anniversary rq!

Enjoy your weekend all. X


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## rebecca822

Happy 16 weeks Fern!

We love sitting outside too! We BBQ almost every Sunday in the summer. 
My doctor sends his twin moms to the hospital MFM department for their 20 week scan. 
I had a scan yesterday and my next one is two weeks from today at my 17 week appointment. I was supposed to go a week from today at 16 weeks but the doctor had to reschedule.


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## 2have4kids

Fern you and I have so much in common lol. Years ago I was zipping by to take something to our rental property and in the back alley someone had thrown out a solid wood gorgeous couch & chair. We were meant to go on vaca that evening but before we went I demanded that DH & I rescue it. I sanded it down, recovered the horrible plaid cushions with bright, fun outdoor material and stained the couch. It's now our fav place to laz about lol. Only thing we really need now is a good bbq, we have my parents which is prob more than 30 years old!

Ok so I made oatmeal & fruit for breaky this am for DD and myself. BIG mistake, I've been in bed with ms and a headache. I just can't do carbs, they send me straight to the toilet. I asked DH to bring home a burger. It's my day off and I've been bringing cottage cheese, greek yoghurt or ham & pineapple to work for breakfasts. My head craves carbs but I just can't handle the sugar when I digest it :cry:


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## froggyfrog

We just got a new table for outside, and if it wasn't so dang hot and I wasn't scared of zika, wet would spend a lot more time outside. Dh brought home two huge wire spools from work, I made one and inside table and one an outside table. 

Sorry your feeling sick today 2have! I hope you start feeling better. That really sick that you can't indulge in cravings without making yourself sick.

I went and got a pedicure today, and they were doing a re grand opening because the expanded the business so they had 40% off. I got the 40 dollar pedi for 24 dollars! I also am finding not easy to "groom" anymore so I went and got a Brazilian wax. It was my first time and I was super nervous. It hurt! But it was so short lived that it really wasn't that bad! I go back in 4 weeks for a follow up!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy isn't it weird to get waxed? I did it for the first time before I delivered DD. Next time I won't get do much taken off, I was a wee bit uncomfortable. But after I had gas & air in the delivery room I was asking them if many people got waxed before delivering and they wouldn't tell me, the said they never notice! I'll go again closer to delivery but I won't get the 'Canadian', which is 2 up from Brazilian, I'll try one or 2 up from that lol. They do make you feel at ease don't they?


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## froggyfrog

The canadian? Lol I have never heard of that. It was weird being exposed but she really did put me at ease. And honestly i feel like so many people have seen my vagina in the last few years trying to get pregnant that it wasnt too terribly awkward. I went to the best place around. They had all five stars for 20 reviews. I think next time I might get something a little special for dh, like a strip or something!


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## 2have4kids

Ha, go for it! My place is called Frilly Lilly, very posh inside - could only afford/justify to do it for delivery. The Canadian was barely a strip! You'd think they'd leave a wee bit more on condidering the name snd how cold it is here!:haha:


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## froggyfrog

My place is called Diva. It's really not too bad at this place. Most of them charged around 50 dollars and didn't have good reviews, but she only charges 35, but had a special today for first time customers for 25. I can definitely do 35 a month. I even told dh that when I get bigger and have a hard time shaving my legs I might get those waxed too#


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## Fern81

Hahaha I laughed so much at "you think they'd leave more on considering how cold it is here" !!!

I've been getting regular bikini waxes for 18 years (on and off). Then in 2011 I switched to doing Hollywood style.... everything off. Everything! And after a few times I started doing it myself; found it quite easy and it saves a lot of money. But now that I can't reach everywhere I guess I'll have to go back to the salon! 

Froggy- a wire spool table? Sounds so interesting please send a pic?

2have - lol yeah I love restoring instead of buying new; too much money spent on ivf already :). I'll be getting most of my baby stuff from family members too! 

I'm sooo stiff from gardening lol. Baby is moving a lot today :).


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## nimbec

Hi ladies I just wanted to pop in and say hello I'm still here...honest! We have last minute gone on a family holiday to Alicante, hubbies parents have a villa out here so we are staying for 3 weeks and running the business from out here too - challenging with a 3.5yr old lol!! 

I'm reading and enjoying keeping up with you all but am so rushed off my geeky I do t have time to write a proper reply...really sorry! 

Thinking of you all!!


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## 2have4kids

Nimbec enjoy your vacation! 
Fern, I've been waxing myself since I was a teenager. Shaving always gave me ingrown hairs and I was a swim instructor/lifeguard so needed to always be neat & tidy down there. I've always found it really easy, I use a cold wax and do the face hairs too. Legs & pits get shaved.
DH cleaned out my trunk!:happydance: so now just need to get the kayak & bike carrier roof rack prices together and get that car on the market. SUV here we come!

Had chinese food last night and my tummy was SO happy! The hot n sour soup I always thought was carby but it didn't make me feel the slightest bit ill. Mind you I wouldn't dare have rice but it's so nice to find foods that don't make me cling to the toilet!

How's everyone's weekend going so far?


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## froggyfrog

We went on a date! We went and saw badmoms at the movies, it was hilarious! I think I laughed through the whole thing! And then because of 2haves mention of olive garden, we went and had an early dinner. Was really fun!


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## Rq120

I have had a fun eventful weekend!

DH and I celebrated our anniversary and it was nice to spend some quality time together. Then Friday we took the day off together and he went shopping with me. I found my dress pants that I needed for work. Then on the way home we stopped at a liquidators store and found a STEAL on car seats. They hardly ever get infant carrier type car seats in but yesterday they had 2! They were different styles but the same brand. The bases were interchangable so they worked for us. We also bought two 3-in-1 convertible car seats. They go from 4lbs to 100lbs so we should be all set. We asked the owner what kind of deal she would make for us and she sold them to us for $65 a piece!!! So we got the car seat situation taken care of for twins for a total cost of $260. 

Today I went bridal dress shopping with my best friend for her wedding in April. She found an absolute gorgeous gown and it was so much fun. 

Today I graduated to maternity clothes. I was tired of just looking fat and decided to show off my bump. Also, I'm almost certain I could feel the babies move/kick today. It felt like a tiny muscle twitch. I felt one and then another a few hours later. 

Hope all you ladies are doing well.


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## rebecca822

Rq it's so great to feel the kicking. So far I haven't felt anything. Over the weekend I told my husbands two brothers and their wives. I always eat a lot over the weekend and then I look big so I'm wondering if I'll flatten out again by tomorrow or if my belly is here to stay. It feel super hard.

Froggy it sounds like a perfect date night, DH and I haven't been out together alone since our trip to Phoenix (the week I got my BFP!)
DHs birthday is in a week (he shares a birthday with DD) so we'll go out for his birthday.


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## Myshelsong

RQ happy anniversary, sounds like a great weekend so far!

Froggy I want to see that movie so bad! Right now I am craving east side Marios salad.. Like hard core. Glad you got your fix of Olive Garden, they don't have it in Ontario anymore.

2 have- hot and sour soup is my all time favourite soup. Can't get enough of it! 

So went and photographed a wedding outdoors yesterday and almost died from the heat! It was 40 with humidity (104 Fahrenheit) and it was outdoors most of the day in the blazing sun. Then inside the old manor the air stopped working so we were all sweating and dying during dinner. The party ended up getting moved to the lawn around 7 when it cooled down enough, but by then some people were just too hot they had to leave. I felt so bad, but you can't pick the weather in August. 
I did drink lots of water, tried to stay in the shade, took a break in my car with the air and went to the bathroom lots to wet myself done and whatnot, but when it's hot it is hot.
Feeling good today, so I didn't get heat stroke which is nice.

Ah waxing.... I am a change up kind of girl. I feel too self conscious to go somewhere to do it, so I do it at home a few times a year. Just the bottom half. In between I am a groomer. I have a small trimmer and take care of it that way. Hubs says he likes the shake up every once and awhile and since he doesn't care, and honestly I couldn't be bothered doing it every 4 weeks for the rest of my marriage, I just don't lol.


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## k4th

Hi - I'm an old ltttc thread friend of nimbec & fern81 (& an occasional secret stalker!!). I just had to pop on to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to nimbec!!! So pleased to see your fantastic news!!!

& hi to you too Fern! Hope you are feeling well and enjoying the journey. So lovely to be feeling those kicks. I've been thinking of you loads!

Hope you both (& everyone else here) have a very h&h few more months.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong that sounds rough! Glad you managed to keep cool and survived the job. 
Rebecca sounds like a lovely family evening, I'm sure they were all very excited for you! 
Hi everyone, I hopeyou all had a great weekend.

We had to paint the basement suite of our rental property and while it was nice and cool in there, I was stiff afterwards and got overly hungry both days. Had vegetarian soup @ mom's house afterwards on Satirday -yum, went down well but Sunday got a grilled chicken burger @ MacD's and nearly barfed. Started blubbering in the middle of dinner. Would just like to not be so restricted with what food I can eat. In the back of my head I was thinking well I prob deserved that for going to MacD's!


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## Fern81

Hi k4th, thanks so much for your continued support & well wishes!! <3

Myshel- we were at a wedding like that in Feb, during the el nino heat wave & no air con. Horrible. I sweated off ALL my fake tan, it ran down my legs in rivers! I can't even imagine how you must have felt being preggies! Wow glad you're ok.

Rq- sounds like you had a lovely anniversary weekend. Such luck with the car seats!!

Froggy- oohh glad to hear a good review, I want to watch it too! :)

2have - hun at least it hopefully means you won't pile on unnecessary pounds? But shame we all want a bit of junk food every now and then! X

What a weekend! Dh and I had another HUGE falling out.... *deleted details* 
I got so upset I started getting painful, frequent contractions (crampy pain and then rock hard uterus!) which lasted all through yesterday, (but no bleeding). It seems like they were frequent Braxton hicks brought on by stress. He did apologize but spoiled it by saying it was all my own fault in any case.... so the apology means nothing. I'm still physically sick today from the fight and crying for hours & hours; migraine today and very nauseous but at least the contractions have stopped. I'm staying out of the psychopath's way again for a while. :(


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## 2have4kids

Omg Fern what an a$$. I'm sorry you had to go through that. If he wanted a hot meal why couldn't he have take-out? Not your fault!


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## Fern81

Ironically, I did offer to pay for McDonald's :(. I deleted the details because I'm ashamed of his behaviour and should learn to keep it to myself. 

Anyway....!! So sad it's the Olympic closing ceremony already! Will be cheering on the Paralympic team. 9 sleeps till I find out my baby's gender. Hope everyone has a nice week and that the weather starts cooling down for all you Northern Hemi girls. X


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## Myshelsong

The heat broke!!! Wahoo. I think I might get to my garden today. Woop woop!
It might be hard, I have so many photos to go through and a Wedding tree order to start so hoping I get out for at least an hour later.

Sorry Fern, I missed the details (I hate to say I'm curious, but it is my nature), but I hope you are feeling better today and baby is good. You fully need to de-stress. I don't know how else but pick up a good book and maybe take a full break from him for a little while. Just say you need some you time. Take care of yourself and have a long warm(semi warm) bath. Wish things were better for you. 

2 have I hate being hungry. I would have and have cried at dinner when nothing tasted right or I made something that didn't sit well. Sorry you are having so many ad versions.
I am so blessed to live in the country I live and have enough income not to worry about food. Because I need it.


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies, how is everyone? I am sorry for being absent for the past week, I didn't realise how hectic it was going to be. We had family come and stay, although it was manic and tiring it was so much fun, it was exactly what I needed but it also meant I didn't have 5 mins to myself, this is the first time I have sat down. 

I have a lot of pages to catch up on so definitely going to miss people. I hope everyone is getting on well and babies are good.

2have, I feel your pain with eating, I still don't like anything and the thought of food makes me gage, I wish I could skip eating all together. I hope it gets better for you. 

Myshel, sorry the heat has been unbearable but happy you made it through the day without any problems. Sounds like you are busy with your photography at the moment which is great news. 

Fern, sorry to hear you are fighting with DH again, he really needs to sort out his priorities. Stress is not good for you or the baby and I think from now on whenever something starts you need to walk away, you will never forgive yourself if something was happen to either of you. You look after yourself and your LO.

I was 16 weeks yesterday and still no real changes, I couldn't wait until my 20 weeks scan so we booked a private scan today. I am glad we did because it was beautiful, the little thing was having its own party and we heard the heartbeat. We are planning on going away in a few weeks so that's helped ease my mind a bit. I have an anterior placenta so maybe a few more weeks yet before I feel any movements but now I know everything is good i feel a lot happier.

X


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so sorry you are having such troubles with your DH again. Awful for your health to be under such stress. I hope you can sort it out. 

Myshel- hooray for cooler weather and gardening. What kind of things do you garden? We have apples, blueberries, dill, tomatoes and cucumbers this year. The cucumbers did not turn out well. 

Pinkie so glad that everything is good with your baby. Hearing the heartbeat is the best sound in the world.


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## Rq120

Hi all. Happy Monday (I guess). I'm a little tired today and I just don't know why. I haven't slept very well the past few nights. I think I'm going to have to adjust my pillows and see if I can find a comfortable position. 

I go to the OB later today. I'm assuming I will schedule my anatomy scan after the appt. Just trying to get through the day until then.


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## rebecca822

Today the cat is out of the bag!

Told a bunch of people that were pregnant. Of course the twin thing will stay a surprise. It feels great knowing that everyone knows! My belly is definitely growing :)

I spent some time in the ER last night for cramping. Had cramping all day and at 8pm phoned the doctor and was sent to the hospital. The wait at the ER was over 3 hours and an hour in I was feeling better so I called the doctor again to see if I could just go home. She said I could but I should come to the office today for a pelvic exam.

Thankfully I'm feeling totally fine today.

Update: the on call doctor from yesterday called me this morning to see how I was feeling. Since I'm feeling better she said I do not need to come in today.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca sorry to hear you had such bad cramping. Isn't it nice when the doctors take personal time to see how you're doing? My ER doctor called me during my 7 week sch to see how I was doing and make sure I'd stopped bleeding. Never had that happen before apart from my awesome GP. 

Pinkie, I don't think the eating thing will get any easier. I will not gain very much this pregnancy guaranteed with the kind of reactions I'm getting to sweet and carby foods. I hate leftovers and don't like repeats so it gets challenging to figure out what to eat next.

I hurt my back carrying DD yesterday. I'd taken the day off and we spent some quality time together since DH and I had been off painting the whole weekend. It broke my heart to hear grandma say that DD had tears in her eyes on occasion while staring off into space. Thinking she was missing us, sweet thing! But omg, I'm getting sharp pains around to the front along my left rib from my spine. We had a great day together but I've been walking crooked ever since.


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## Rq120

Oh man, I lost my message. 

Ok, to keep it short because I don't feel like typing it all again.
Doppler at my MD appt yesterday was good (no US). Waiting for a call when my 20 week US is scheduled. 

Rebecca - glad you are ok.

Fern - hope you and DH are doing well.


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## rebecca822

2have sorry about your back. My DD knows I don't carry her anymore, I'm just too afraid to hurt myself. I guess with your LO you have no choice since she's still so little.
Tuesday my daughter will be 4! I can not believe how big she is! We're making a small birthday party at a local restaurant for family. Well bring a cake and balloons, she will love it!

Rq I'm glad to hear your babies are good. 

Anatomy scans for us all are coming up real soon. Yay!!!


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## Pinkie3

2have, I don't think I am going to gain too much weight at this rate either, so far I have lost weight. I don't have a reaction to types of food, I just can't stomach anything the thought of eating brings on my nausea. Let's hope we are given a bit of a break as things progress. Wishful thinking. Sorry to hear you've pulled your back, be careful with that. 

Rq, good news the babies are doing well. 

Rebecca, happy birthday to your little girl. 

I had my 16 week midwife appointment today and everything is good, urine and all bloods came back fine, blood pressure good and heard babies heartbeat again. Everyone is happy with the way things are going. Finally I think a bump is forming. Today was the first day I had to change my trousers because they were uncomfortably tight, yey, never thought I'd be so happy to get a big belly. Maternity clothes shopping here I come. 

X


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## Fern81

Rebecca glad to hear you are OK, that must have been scary! 

2have - take it easy. Shame can imagine you can't just not pick up your baby.

Pinkie- was thinking of you during your family visit, glad you enjoyed it!

Good news that everyone's scans and/or ob visits are going so well!


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## rebecca822

I'm not even 16 weeks and I'm so excited to have these babies already!

I already called insurance about lactation support and breast pumps.
How the heck will I wait another 22 weeks to meet these babies???

I'm trying to keep busy and distracted but it's so hard!


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie enjoy your shopping! So glad to hear your scan went well! 

Rebecca I share your excitement in between my bouts of bad food tastes, nausea and back pain:haha:


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## froggyfrog

I have ordered my beast pump, it should be on its way tomorrow. They called me on Thursday and said that they had already submitted to my insurance. I'm getting the Ameda.


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## 2have4kids

My 2 gf's who just had their babies last week have said the pump is a blessing. The one thinks her nipples are too sensitive to bf, I reassured her it goes away after 2 weeks if baby has latched properly. If you ladies have never googled baby breastfeeding latch problems there's some really great images and reading out there to save yourself a whole lot of pain and nipple ache. They're both using the pump to help get the milk going and give the nips a break. I was black & blue on both sides the first week with MacKinley so I'd pump and feedher from the bottle during the night which helped DH and I alternate sleep. Helped my nips heal and then she was good with either the bottle or breast, whereas other infants in our birthing class who weren't given a bottle till 6 months had a hard time accepting it. 

Rebecca how was bf-ing for you?


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## Fern81

My next scan is one week from today!! But anatomy scan only 6 weeks after (at 24 weeks) since I'm not going every 4 weeks. It's good to hear that the moms who already know what newborns are like, are still very much looking forward lol.... must admit I'm very scared of the newborn stage (excited but scared!).

Man, this weather is nice. I wish you could all share this Spring day with me. :)


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## rebecca822

Bf was a challenge for me. I have inverted nipples so it's harder to nurse. Also, we were living by my in laws since our house was under construction and I found the living arrangements stressful. I didn't have privacy while nursing and was uncomfortable nursing in front of DHs family. Since I had been recovering from a c section it was difficult for me to go upstairs to my room every time baby needed to eat. On top of all of that, and maybe due to the stress I lost most of my milk supply so I ended up supplementing after each feeding. I was sleep deprived and hormonal and just miserable!
This time around DH will hire help for 24 hours so she can care for the babies while I sleep. I will wake up to feed them but then I can go right back to bed and I won't need to diaper and burp, etc.
Hopefully that will get me through the first 6 weeks when it starts to get easier.
I would like to make an appointment with the lactation consultants at the hospital since my insurance covers unlimited visits during pregnancy and after birth and I will make a plan with them so I am prepared!


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## 2have4kids

Oh Rebecca that sounds awful! You definitely need privacy when feeding and pumping, lots of walking around topless at my house:haha: I'm glad your DH has tried to help you out with some hired help this next go, hopefully your experience changes to a positive one!:thumbup:
We saw 3 different doctors to assess if her latch was correct and the third, and especially after seeing how black and blue I was, said she wasn't latched correctly. We were referred to a consultant and I cried on the way over because I thought they'd have to snip her tongue. I was terrified of this! Turned out she was a lazy feeder, she'd fall asleep 1/2 way into feeding and wouldn't get the amount she needed. So we had to keep her awake. The biggest indication that your baby is tongue tied well is if you hurt alot and you see a massive tissue under their tongue or over their top set of gums.


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## Rq120

Hi ladies. My anatomy scan is scheduled for Sept 13th. I'm excited to be able to find out genders in 3 weeks. 

Today kinda stinks at work because it's a stressful day. I think after the babies are born (and we move) I'm going to find a different job. I'm in pharmacy so I'm thinking of going back to hospital work. But I need to stay at my current job for maternity benefits. Some days are good and some are bad. We also go a new manager who isn't good. Some days I just count down to leave. Like today....5 months!

I'm also considering whether to book an elective scan for my MIL's birthday. We are going to visit them from Sept 17-24. They just moved out of state and MIL was really upset she wasn't going to get a chance to see the babies on US (we are close). The only problem is it will only be a week from my 20 week anatomy scan. It's $129 for a package and I guess the reason I'm on the fence is the fact that if I was going to pay/get an elective scan it would prob be better to do it when I am further along. What do you guys think?


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## froggyfrog

RQ, I did one for my mom to see him on ultrasound at 16 weeks, but I'm planning on doing another one around 30 weeks. I think you could always do another one later.


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## froggyfrog

Here is my 18 week bump pic!


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## rebecca822

Lovely bump froggy!!


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## froggyfrog

My fingers are on and off swollen too from retaining water. I'm only able to wear my wedding band now as its a little looser than my engagement ring. I'm thinking about ordering one of those silicone rings. Dh has one that has replaced his ring because it's safer for his work.


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, sorry I missed your post about the cramping, glad everything is ok sounds like the Little ones are doing some growing. Sorry to hear BF was so difficult with your DD but it also sounds like you were not in the best place to make it successful for you. I hope things are easier for you this time around.

2have, thanks for the tip on looking online, I just done a bit of research and there is a lot on there, there are also some really good videos. It's a lot more in depth than just putting the baby on your breast, there is a real technique to this. One of my free antenatal classes is a breastfeeding workshop so will definitely attend that. 

Froggy, great bump, looks like it is coming along nicely.

RQ, most people leave their jobs because of the manager, some people are not cut out to manage. I hope things improve, if not you don't have much longer. 

I have been really sick again the last few days, I thought I was getting past this stage. Back on my sea bands go... 

X


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## Myshelsong

Love it froggy!!!


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## Fern81

You're looking gorgeous Froggy! Happy 18 weeks; can't believe you're almost half way done. Time is FLYING.

Rq I agree with you maybe later? If the scans will be just a week apart for this next one. 

2have how is your back, and Rebecca any more cramping? 

Pinkie ugh hun I can't believe your bad luck with the ms! Hugs xxx


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## 2have4kids

RQ I'd probably print out some photos for her of the 20 week scan rather than pay for one a week later. Sorry your boss is a wank, it's seems the good ones are few and far between these days!
Pinkie sorry you're feeling sick this week, I hope the sea bands work for you. Yes, I was lucky to have a heads up with my colleague just having had a baby before I left. Her baby was tongue tied and she struggled until they had the tongue flap cut. After that it was much easier but in the mean time baby screams because they can't eat and mom cries because it's stressful having a hungry baby and not being able to feed them. Better to know about the bf-ing issues well before baby is born so you can identify issues. She had 5 doctors tell her all different things, very frustrating!

Froggy that's a beautiful photo, you look great! I'm afraid I feel yukky so haven't taken any photos...yet.

Fern how are you doing? 
Everyone else?
I have a massage today after work. The back is better today, lots of warm showers the past few days!


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## rebecca822

Fern, thankfully no. I've been feeling good!


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## Fern81

I'm doing ok thanks. We had another stupid argument on Monday I think, with lots of cursing from his side and him saying "if you get contractions again it's your own fault".... all just so sad. Then yesterday I kept thinking about how this is supposed to be such a special time for me and for us together; only a few more months and then our lives will change dramatically forever. I just couldn't even think or talk about all our issues anymore. When he came through the door I just hugged him and held him & he seemed surprised. I think we are both so full of resentment at the moment (maybe he feels baby is my sole priority now and he feels very left out; while I feel he's not involved at all & doesn't care about us), that the resentment is making us forget that we are married because we love each other and that we do have the choice to enjoy our marriage. Don't know if that makes sense but I don't want to regret the choices I'm making. Sometimes I should just forgive him more easily. 

He is going on tour with his team for a few days in October and we both think the time apart will do us good, just so we can have some breathing space and miss the other person for once! Also I do believe that because we were trying to make things work, the devil will try to break us up so we can't let that happen. Sorry, rambling! 

Ugh I have to go get ready for class. The fact that I have to work has NEVER frustrated and irritated me so much as during this pregnancy!? All I want to do is nest and go for walks and sleep!!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm happy things are a tiny bit better. You're right that now is the time to work on your marriage, after the baby it will be chaos :)

Pinkie- I hope you're feeling better honey!

Afm- I'm feeling really good (knock on wood) I've gained a lot of weight. Almost 9 pounds, no idea how it happened!!!
My next OBs appointment is 1 week from tomorrow and I'm so anxious to confirm the genders and see that my babies are doing well.


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## nimbec

Hi all 
thank you so much I'm so pleased you Fern and I all made it (well this far anyway) in the end - a long struggle!! How are you? 

Fern I so sorry he is so difficult and I think you are amazing for dealing with it in the way you do. If definitely think about getting some plans in place for when baby arrives because it will literally turn everything upside down and pushes any relationship to extremes - I think if you an prepare for this it will help. ((Hugs)) thank goodness for no more contractions! 

Rebecca how exciting 1 week will fly by - do you have a feeling? Any guesses? 

Pinkie hope you are feeling better it's horrid feeling rough.

Froggy awesome photo I love it! Where is the time going?! 

Rq I think I agree with 2have maybe photos is a good idea and then invite to o e later on...although as many scans as poss is nice if you can afford it. 

Ellie how are you? 

Hi to everyone else sorry not spoken to everyone personally. 

Well I'm meant to be on holiday and I'm just hating it!! Sounds very selfish but I'm sore, still feeling unwell from OHSS although much better and work is a nightmare - even looked at early flights home today but they are so expensive. Hubby thinks I can just carry on as normal ie all cooking, cleaning, sting for him & Harrison well I'm not coping well and feeling worse so something is going to have to give &#128584;. I'm picky tho so partly my fault I like things done my way!! Just being down the pool is hard as Harrison wants to play all time and I'm just so swollen and sore I'm like a beached whale!! Anyway sorry for the moan, thinking of you ladies!


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## rebecca822

Nimbec I had a scan last Thursday and she was pretty sure we had one boy and one girl. We should be able to confirm that next Friday!

Sorry you've been still feeling unwell, I hope you feel better soon.


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## nimbec

Eek exciting!! Roll on next Friday.


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## Rq120

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I might just sleep on it and see how I feel about it closer to time. The thing is my in-laws just moved out of state so it's do the US with them now or never. I also might see if I can get some video of the 20 week scan and put it to music or something.

Froggy - what a cute bump pic! you inspired me to share my 16 week pic. I'll share it in another post.

Hope everyone is doing well.


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## Rq120

Bump pic :)
 



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## rebecca822

Yay love all the bump pictures. I'll make a 16 week picture tomorrow and post it.

Rq I like your idea of making an ultrasound video that seems like a great compromise!


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## froggyfrog

Cute bump pic RQ!!!!

Nimbec I hope you start feeling better! 

Fern, I hope things can be easier for you and dh from here on out!


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## 2have4kids

Nimbec I didn't see in your siggy that you already have a munchkin...how was bf-ing for you? Having 2 kids might cure you of having things your way. It depends on how organized you are but I think 3 kids under 2 years old will absolutely kill any need I ever had to be completely organized and neat:haha: I hope you feel better soon!

RQ that's a great idea for the scan and lovely 16 week bump! 

I'm going to do a photo soon thanks for inspiring me ladies.

Hi to everyone, I hope the week is going well. My massage was great last night. I have DD for the entire weekend and also have to take care of some rental property business so grandma will hopefully babysit for me tomorrow. DD's birthday is coming up on Sept 30 and I'm hosting a group birthday party for her birth class. I've been completely inspired by fondant cake making so I'm going to start with a simple buttercream cake this weekend that I picked for DD's birthday. I priced it out and fondant starts at $110 and buttercream starts at $60 for a smash cake + adult cake to eat. While making it from scratch is under $5 and I've already got piping tools, why not give it a go? Will post a photo of the Pinterest goal vs aftermath:haha:


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## rebecca822

2have, my DH made a fondant cake for DD's first birthday and it came out really good. I'll try to find a picture to post.
 



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## 2have4kids

Rebecca that is SO beautiful! I'm so in love with how artistic a person can get with them. He did a great job. I'd like to try to do an ombre buttercream for DD's birthday like the bottom half of this cake:


Sorry I can't seem to put more than 1 photo in one post so I'll do 3 posts...


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## 2have4kids

With matching cake pops:


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## 2have4kids

And fondant for the group birthday:


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## rebecca822

Love those cakes!! I've always wanted to try making cake pops, they look so pretty!

My 16 day bump!
Im a little camera shy, so no judgement.
 



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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, no judgement, you look gorgeous. I am loving these bump pictures they are all so cute. 

I love the cakes too, there are some very creative people. I like baking but unfortunately I am just not very good at it. 

2have, you make me want a massage. DH and I are planning to get away for a few days and I want a spa hotel for a mum to be massage. 

Fern, I hope you sort things with DH soon. I agree with the others to try and get to a good place before baby arrives. I have heard a baby tests even the strongest of relationships. 

Nimbec, sorry to hear you are not enjoying your holiday. You are probably not feeling the best so it's understandable you just want to be home, don't be hard on yourself and take it easy when you can.

I hope everyone else is well, I can't believe the weekend is here again, I hope everyone is looking forward to it. My dad is coming to stay for the night and bringing my two young niece with him( aged 6 months and 2) I am looking forward to having them to myself. Nothing better than having the kids without mum and dad around.


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## Fern81

Awww loving all the bump piccies!! Rebecca your watch looks just like mine :) is it a Guess by any chance? :)

Those cakes all look divine! Rebecca can't believe your dh made that. Mine can barely boil water lol. 2have - yes please remember pics of the final product! I'm soooo bad with cake decorating but it might be because I don't have any proper equipment. You are all making my mouth water....

Nimbec it sucks that you can't rest a bit on holiday! Will you be able to relax for a day or so back home before going back to work?

Pinkie- enjoy the kiddies!

17 weeks today, wow, again time is just flying. 5 sleeps until my gender scan! I think it's a boy.


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## rebecca822

Fern, no it's a Michelle watch :)
My DH is a fantastic cook, if only he had more time to cook. He works a lot so dinner is made by the time he gets home.
Lucky you, I have 7 more sleeps until my official gender scan. Ughh it's so far away. Happy 17 weeks to you!! We have all come so far!
About 22 weeks to go for me.

My cute little 4 year old keeps eyeing my tummy, waiting for her to ask me if there's a baby in there. She's so perceptive she doesn't miss a beat.


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## nimbec

Thank you for all my well wishes I have sort of got my head in a better place and today has been better I have only done what HAS to be done! 

2have breast feeding for me was tough for the first few days especially as I had to pump exclusively for 5 days - we spent a week or so in SCBU as he was early and needed help BUT I had a wonderful midwife who was amazing with latching who totally transformed the experience for me I was very lucky and learnt a lot!! Sadly Harrison was lactose intolerant so I only managed 10 weeks but I hope to do much more this time. I have read a lot about tongue tie etc and how painful it can be for the woman - blimey it hurt enough when he wasn't latched properly and he was fine. I'm with you 2 kids will be super tough and I'm sure I will be happy to just get things done in anyway shape or form &#128514;! I would love a massage how lovely and oh my word those cakes look amazing! 

Rebecca that's super impressive by your hubby! 

Ladies what are cake pops? We don't have them here in the uk... 

Love all the bump pictures everybody looks great! 

Fern I'm with you my hubby has one signature dish - fajitas out of a packet &#128514;&#128514;. Oooh wonder if you are right on the boy front...how exciting! 

Hi to everyone else


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## elliecain

I'm so lucky... My DH does the majority of the cooking and he's really good! I can cook quite well, but I love his food so much! The downside is I do all the cleaning...
My faves of his dishes are: curry (we have a spice drawer), roast dinners, spaghetti bolognaise, macaroni cheese, stir fry, lamb kebabs, cous cous salad, soup... He can cook anything though!

Spice drawer (I labelled the jars, but we need more - hence all the annoying bags!):
https://i67.tinypic.com/fkchgk.jpg

I've been finding it hard to post in any groups recently, not sure why. I read every update, but I feel so far behind everyone. After getting my appointment time wrong for Harmony, I've decided I'm going to wait until I get the NHS combined test result back and only do Harmony if I come out high risk. It will save me a lot of money and I feel like the mix-up happened for a reason.

I've yet to see the midwife... My GP messed up, so that's delayed until 8th September, so not too long now. My NHS scan is a week today, can't wait!

I've been listening to little Bee's heartbeat most days on my doppler, which is so reassuring. It's frustrating sometimes, when it takes ages to find, but I just have to be patient.

Sorry for lack of individual replies. The bump pics are lovely. I'm just bloated, but hoping for proper bump in a few weeks.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - you look great and I'm so impressed with your DH's cake. 

2Have - I'm sure you will do great with the cake and I hope you have lots of fun trying new techniques. 

I'm excited it is Friday, although I'm moonlighting again at the hospital. It will be worth it however to get my IVF bill paid off before the babies get here (that's my pep talk to myself!). Have a great weekend all!!


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## rebecca822

Wow ellicain, really impressive with the spices! I also clean up after DH ;)

Rq, good for you that you have your priorities sorted out! What is it that you do?


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## Fern81

Aaah ellie I've missed you. X you're not far behind, you're growing your beautiful Bee and right there with Nimbec in the final stretch of the first tri! Feel free to read or post when you need to. We are all here for you & I know I love reading everyone's updates and opinions! X


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## nimbec

Ellie I'm only one week ahead of you - so pretty much the same :) I have seen the midwife only because they see us at 9 weeks then not again until 16 weeks!! I have decided to do a similar test to harmony when I'm back from holiday so will be 12-13 weeks but that's because here in Wales we don't get the Nt test either. Things will start happening soon and the midwifes will see you more soon esp as this is your first. Hugs. So pleased you can find your bubs on the Doppler I had to stop as I found it the first time then came to Spain and couldn't find for days - I was in a terrible state almost booked an Emergancy scan out here so I decided for my sanity to leave it till I'm home ...In tempted again though! He/she is super difficult to find lol!


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## Myshelsong

I am so jealous of everyone that has a hubby that cooks. Mine is awful at cooking and when he does it is awful lol! He once made me meatloaf in a mug cooked in the microwave (which was just ground beef and a piece of bread mushed in) and a raw whole potato cooked in the oven.... I almost died. 
So I do all the cooking now that I work from home, which is ok I guess. We do takeout once a week thankfully so I get a break and he does dishes half the time.

Rebecca that cake looks delicious!

I love the ombré icing look. I have decided I am doing that next cake I do, maybe not as large as the one in the picture though.

Cake pops are cake batter dipped in chocolate. There are a few ways to make it, including using a silicone premade round ball tray, or cook a cake, let cool, mash to pieces add frosting, shape into balls, cool and then dip in chocolate. Lots of fun but i always make a mess doing it lol

It is so great to see everyone doing well, especially since we have all been through so much to get here! I am crying now, argh these crazy hormones.


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong my DH doesn't cook either. His one speciality whdn I met him was spaghetti bolognese. I could swear he used to dump a half container of salt into it, it was almost unpalatable. So I cook, he cleans and we're very happy that way! 

I'm getting a little worried. I think I need to see my OB so I asked them to bump up the first appt from Sept 15. I don't think it's good to have GD to the extent that I have it and have twins and only have a 12 and 20 week scan. I think it's risky. The receptionist said she's have to ask her personally to get an early appt so I explained a few things but they never got back to me today. I'll ring again Monday.


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## Fern81

Myshel I laughed SO HARD at that story!! You totally made my day. Typically when I told my dh the story (tears of laughter running down my cheeks) he looked baffled and said "that meatloaf in a mug sounds so nice though" !! How are you doing with all the photo touch-ups? Don't know if you noticed when I first posted this link but you just HAVE to see it.... people who tried to imitate "perfect" pinterest photoshoots with their own LO's; all ended in a hilarious epic fail. Think you will enjoy it seeing as you know just how much effort goes into photography! 

https://justsomething.co/24-hilarious-baby-photoshoot-pinterest-fails-9-made-my-entire-day/

2have - that royally sucks!! Are you taking blood sugar readings? I know I said earlier that "at least you won't pick up too much weight"; but tbh at that point I was hopeful that it would start turning around for you now that you are in second trimester.... just goes to show what I know. I agree; be proactive! 

Rq hope you enjoy the weekend's work, is it a bit different from your day-to-day nursing job? And with the same manager or...?

I haven't really felt movement for a week now, which makes me think it was just all in my head. Hope baby is OK! I have a nice day planned; coffee & cake with my bff and a pregnant friend (was so glad to find out recently someone I know irl is also preggies!). Then probably a visit with my parents and sister & all her kids while dh is at work the whole day. 

Rebecca I'm so happy we're having our gender scans so close together! Hope all 3 our babies cooperate and clearly show us the goods lol.

Have a nice weekend all!


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## Myshelsong

Oh my gosh Fern you hubs thought it sounded good Hahahaha. Mine still defends his meal and says it wasn't that bad. Men are funny.
I have seen those and the are epically funny. 
Haven't even touched the wedding photos yet, but caught up on the rest. Have a 1yr old bday party today so that should be fun to photograph. 

2have, hope your doctor sees you soon. So weird that they won't just book you an appointment

So my newest symptom is crazy heartburn or indigestion... Anyone else suffering? I rarely get this but now it is almost constant so I have no idea what too eat and what to avoid. I found that milk and cheese gives me horrible gas, so switching to lactose free milk this week, and everything else I eat gives me heart burn. I have been taking a few tums when it is unbearable but there has to be something else.


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## froggyfrog

2have, could you maybe buy one of those blood sugar testers? Maybe if you went in with a journal of your levels they would listen to you. 

Fern, I'm sure the movements were real, they were so sporadic for me until the last couple of days, I have felt him mostly at night the last few in a row. Fx you start feeling them more often! 

Myshel, I woke up out of a dead sleep to take tums last night. I'm not sure what is causing mine either but I just take tums. I try to stay away from dairy anyway because it upsets my stomach, we have been drinking almond milk for a long time. It has about 6mg less in protein than cows milk, but it actually has more calcium. The taste isn't bad just different, fact we are so used to it now that I consider it yummy.


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## Rq120

Rebecca/Fern - I'm a pharmacist. I work in an office setting where I do computer programming with medications Mon-Fri. Weird right! 

I also work at a local hospital some weekends. I just put all this money into paying off medical/IVF costs. It is totally different than what I do M-F so even though I work extra it is still a "break" for me. I worked at this hospital for 6 years before my current office job so it is nice to catch up with everyone. I get weekend differential so it also makes it worth it. DH has been very supportive because he knows how important setting ourselves up financially is right now since he will be a stay at home dad. Also, he knows it is only for a few more months. I won't work there after the babies are born.

Fern - I felt movement last weekend and once this week (Tuesday maybe) and I haven't felt them since. I don't think it was in your head. Hopefully it will pick up and we can enjoy the movement more often soon. 


I had heartburn also. I started taking Zantac (or ranitidine) nightly and that has helped a lot. It is also safe for pregnancy, although I would let your doc know you are taking it so they can add it to your med list.


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## 2have4kids

Froggy I've started taking my 2 hour-after-meal blood sugars. I'm also recording what I'm eating since there's no carbs or sugar in my diet. I'm simply going to tefuse to drink that sugary stuff, I can't do it. 

I went to pick up DD and twice now I've felt something flip in my abdomen. The first on my right side, second on my left. DD was always head down, I wonder if thise babies are flip flopping around. It felt weird!


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## Fern81

Rq- lol idk why I thought you were a nurse! Maybe because of "rq".... I had "rn" in my mind.... baby brain! Your job sounds interesting! And yes I agree totally worth it. I also put as much extra income as I can, after my monthly expenses have been met, into a low-risk investment account. I need to save up for my months of unpaid maternity leave etc! And also looking into doing some extra computer work for a digital radiography systems company on the side (got an offer and hoping that person will follow through because that is something I can do while on leave for school holidays AND asap after baby is born; while I won't be able to do my everyday job, teaching, immediately).

Only 3 more sleeps until my scan aaahhhhh.

Beemeck thinking of you today and hope you are ok. X


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## ES89

Hi all sorry I've not popped in for a while. I went back to work this week after taking time out to rest after a slight bleed. Feeling a lot better in myself now. I've passed my notes from the fertility clinic onto my surgery but not heard from the midwife yet, will chase it this week if I've still not heard anything. 
I hope everyone else is doing ok, love seeing the bump pictures. Think I'm the same as Ellie, just bloated but already had to go bra shopping as I've gone up a size. xx


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies, sorry for the lack of posts over the weekend. I've been feeling really sick. Friday I threw up after feeling unwell and Saturday I had a really bad migraine and threw up a few times. It's 5am here and I napped most of the day so I'm not really tired. 
My head still hurts and I'm not feeling all that great.
I hope Sunday will bring a better day for me.


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## beemeck

Thanks for thinking of me fern. I'm still hanging in here. I've been trying to avoid the computer during my time off work so I don't slide into the black hole of lazy internet world lol. I had an ob appt last week that was uneventful and I go on Tuesday to meet with the surgeon. They would like to do my surgery sept 7 ish but I'm still hoping that somehow against all odds, the cyst shrunk. I'll find out more on Tuesday and let you girls know. 
Glad to hear that at least all of the babies are doing well even when us mommies might not be. Thinking of you all!


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## Myshelsong

Gosh Rebecca hope you feel better soon!

Beemeck we are thinking about you. I hope everything goes as well as it can, I know this is a no win situation right now but try t stay positive. We are sending you our love and thoughts.

Es- I still haven't seen my OB, not going in until 22 weeks unfortunately. Until then just with my regular doctor. Your 12 week ultrasound is coming up soon though!

Fern, yay scans!!


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## rebecca822

Feeling like crap today too. I phoned my doctor and he sent me to the hospital for IV fluids. Hopefully that will help me feel better as I haven't kept fluid down in two days.
I'm hoping to get an ultrasound too, I miss my babies.


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## Fern81

Es- good to hear you are doing well and that your bleeding hasn't reoccured. X

Beemeck glad that you and your bubs are also doing well! Aahh I'm keeping my fx for good news on Tuesday. 

Shame Rebecca seems like it comes and goes for you... hope your Sunday was better.

Had a great weekend. Much better than the last one! I had such a nice coffee date with my pregnant friend, and cuddling all my sister's kids the rest of the afternoon (yesterday). Today dh and I had a lovely drawn-out Sunday buffet lunch at a hotel, in the beautiful huge gardens next to a dam. Things are good between us atm. I asked him if we could please just be kinder and more forgiving toward each other (even while not actively sorting out our issues) as these are our last few months of just me & him. He agreed so let's see how long the peace lasts!


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## rebecca822

Update:
I spent a few hours in the labor and delivery department yesterday and received a few bags of fluids. I was really dehydrated. They did and ultrasound just to measure heart rate and both were good.
They sent me home after 3 hours, I was feeling much better. Later in the day I was throwing up again but thankfully today I woke up feeling so much better!

Tomorrow is DD's birthday and her party and then DH and I will be traveling for business for 2 days and leaving her home with my mom.

Fern I'm so glad things are going better for you and DH.


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## froggyfrog

I'm so sorry you have been so sick Rebecca, I'm glad you are feeling better. How scary! I hope your DD has a happy birthday! 

Me and Gage were playing a game around 1 am. I would poke him and he would kick! He was kicking so hard my tummy shook! Some of his kicks are getting stronger, yesterday I had a full bladder but hadn't gone yet, and he kicked my bladder so hard I though I would pee myself! It's getting fun now!


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## rebecca822

Froggy, I haven't felt my babies yet and now I'm realizing it's because I have anterior placentas. I recall the ultrasound tech mentioning it passing and then when I googled feeling baby kick I read that with an anterior placenta you don't feel early movement since the placentas location blocks the kicking. It makes so much sense now. Wish I could feel the kicking already but I know they are safe and cozy inside.


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## Fern81

Rebecca that must have been scary! Hmpf pregnancy is never uneventful for long! Hope you have a wonderful & blessed day with your dd's birthday tomorrow. And look after yourself on that trip, just a few more days until your gender scan. :)

Froggy that sounds really cool. You're about a week ahead of me so I hope my baby also starts kicking me hard soon!

Bee - gl for tomorrow.

Praying - haven't heard from you in a while, hope you are ok!

One more busy day and then my scan on Wednesday morning. Scared and excited!


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## rebecca822

Fern Wednesday is so close, yay! I'm voting for a boy for you too! 
You're right, by the time we get back from our trip it'll be late Thursday night and the scan is at 1:30 on Friday!


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## Rq120

Fern - I'm excited for your scan Wed. I'm getting my anatomy scan in 2 weeks and I'm really looking forward to it.

Rebecca - I hope you start feeling better soon.

Froggy - so cool that you can feel your baby boy that much.


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## Fern81

Happy dd's birthday rebecca!

How are you feeling 2have? Have you spoken to your dr at all concerning your suspected gd?

Ellie if you're reading I've been curious to know whether the skin rash has started up again after you stopped the prednisone. Hope not. X

Aaaahhhh tomorrow morning is my scan.... geez I'm so excited and anxious (suppose I will always be anxious about baby for the rest of my life!) I couldn't sleep last night and I doubt if I'll be able to sleep tonight. Just praying everything is OK. And sooooo looking forward to finding out the gender!


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## elliecain

Fern, the scan will be great! Good luck!

I stated tapering prednisolone last week and I freaked out because I felt itchy and contacted my consultant. He made the tapering less abrupt and the itchy went. I'm on my last day at 10mg now (went from 20mg to 15 to 10) and then 6 days on 5mg before I stop.
I will say though, that I'm getting the standard withdrawal exhaustion. It's hard to know what is unmasked preggo symptoms and what is withdrawal, but I feel wretched and want to sleeeeeeeep!
I have my 12 week scan on Friday and I can't wait. I've decided not to do Harmony just yet, but wait and see what the combined NT/blood test result is first. I just really hope I can get an NT reading on Friday, because I think I'm going to announce my pregnancy if that reads below the threshold. I'm hoping I can read it when the sonographer measures it, or coerce her to tell me, because they normally make you wait until they've analysed it all, but that would be days and I'd like to announce before I return to work next week because I'm in maternity clothes (so bloated).


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## rebecca822

Fern, tomorrow will be here before you know it!

DD thinks it's not her birthday until she has a party! Lol good thing her party is today.


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## Pinkie3

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days, it's been a busy bank holiday here in the UK. I had my nieces come and stay, we had so much fun. It certainly gave me a taster of what's to come. Feeding, nappy changing, sleepless night. I can't wait! 

Froggy, enjoy every moment you feel of baby kicking, you must have a strong little one in there.

Rebecca, I am so sorry to hear you ended up in hospital, sounds scary but glad things are getting better. I have an anterior placenta too unfortunately, when I went for my scan last week she said it could be a number of weeks before I feel anything and even then it will only be like a bubble as its like kicking a cushion. Happy birthday to your DD I hope she has a wonderful day. 

Fern, yey for the scan tomorrow. Everything will be fab, enjoy seeing your little one and good luck. I am going with a boy. 

Bee, wishing you the best of luck with surgery coming up, you have done great to get where you are and I am sure everything will go well.

Myshel, I hope the heartburn is easing, I have been suffering terribly too it is so painful. I have been drinking milk/milkshakes and peppermint tea, and taking gaviscon if it gets too bad. Oddly I find it worse if I get hungry but then it hurts too much to eat. So eating little and often is helping.

Ellie, I felt amazing when taking my steriods and quite tired when I finished, yours is probably a combination of side effects and pregnancy. Hopefully it won't get any worse than this. Good luck with your scan on Friday. 

Sorry if I have missed anyone, hope everyone is getting on well. 

Not much to report from me, unfortunately I still feel rubbish. I have good days and bad days, terrible heartburn, terrible gas, headaches, no appetite or energy but baby is good so that's all that matters.


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## Fern81

Shame pinkie I'm so sorry to hear that! Wish that there could be just one whole week where you could feel better!

Rebecca have you been feeling ok after being hospitalised?

2have how are you coping with the gd?


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## beemeck

Surgery is set for next week - can't wait to get it over with !! 

Can't wait to see some baby genders soon !! :)


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## nimbec

Just a very quick post hi everyone - good luck Fern tomorrow can't wait to hear the news!! And yup the worry never ever goes away!! &#128514;


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## Fern81

Thanks!!

Beemeck I'm so relieved for your sake that it's almost over. Will you have a laparoscopy?

Had a GREAT gender scan, baby was very calm and lying down sleeping but at least bum in the air! So check out this clear potty shot.....! Dr bounced baby a bit and we saw some movement but it seems like baby likes sleeping as much as DH and I lol...
 



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## elliecain

Glad it went well, Fern.
I'm probably being thick, but... Is that a boy?


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## froggyfrog

I'm never good at seeing potty shots! But your picture in your avatar is amazing fern!! Look at those cute hands and feet! !! How sweet!


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## Myshelsong

Hey ladies! 
Rebecca, how are you feeling after the iv 
Hope your daughter had a great birthday 

Fern, glad you had a good scan! Sorry I am not good at figuring out genders it just looks like blobs to me lol

Bee - hope you are doing ok before the surgery! Thoughts are with you 

Pinkie- argh the heartburn! Mine is slowly clearing up, I have been eating a piece of fruit with every meal, and that has maybe helped? Peppermint tea is a total no go for me though ,makes it so much worse! maybe baby moved I don't know. My gas I figured out is 100% the milk, which is a pregnancy think for me. Even cheese is bugging me and I love cheese. Headaches on and off though, so annoying.

Ellie good luck on the scan


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, lovely photo Fern! I can't tell what gender the baby is though, terrible at that.

For those with heartburn here are the top 10 foods to avoid (mint is one of them): https://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/features/top-10-heartburn-foods?page=2

My rule is water 1/2 hour before a meal max, no water with a meal and avoid until 1 hour after. Otherwise you're diluting your stomach acids making it hard to get the food down and causing major gas, bloating and indigestion. As well to help your digestion & prevent heartburn try probiotics and eating prebiotic foods. IE garlic, sauerkraut and these: https://www.prebiotin.com/foods-containing-prebiotics/

Ellie all the best with your scan.
Pinkie I hope you're feeling better soon.
Rebecca I love intravenous...the only times I've ever had it I've felt so bad I could die and it has completely revived me back to new again. I hope you're feeling better. Are you able to get some ms preventative? I know there's a pregnancy safe med that you can get from the doc, but you have to take it beforehand for prevention.
Beemack all the best with your surgery, lets hope they can get in and out without damaging anything! 
Hi everyone else :waves:

AFM, DD started walking last weekend, she's so excited and proud of herself she stands up, claps, walks and hollers. It's hilarious. 
We went for ribs with family & friends and I went to bed that night dreaming of ribs, they were SO tasty! And I had a salad side and mashed potatoes and the mashed taters didn't make me feel sick. BONUS! 

My OB appointment got bumped up to Thursday this week so I'm excited to possibly get another scan and hear the heartbeats.


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## Fern81

Lol yeah it's a boy!! I was looking at a million ultrasound pics before pur scan so I would know what to look for... as soon as it popped up on screen I shouted "that's a boy!" Haha I think everyone in the waiting room heard me. That pic is a potty shot from right underneath/below baby's bum. With a femur on top and on the bottom. Girl potty shots have 3 lines like a hamburger, boys have this "turtle" hehe. We're very happy! So dr was right with her nub theory prediction at 12 weeks (well she had a 50% chance of being right). 

Was glad to read that you get to taper off the cortisones slowly ellie... as if the fatigue from pregnancy isn't hard enough.

Myshel aarrgghh still with the heartburn! I feel so sorry for you not being able to eat cheese :) halfway done though!

Froggy yeah I love these 4d scans. So much detail. We saw all the joints in the arms and legs and he looks like a little athlete already like his dad but very unlike his mom! He was lying with his face stubbornly to my back so we got a number of nice pics of his brain but none of his face! Is Gage still kicking so much?

Interesting that we have so many boys so far! I've read that slightly more ivf embies are boys, because the male sperm cells are still all alive when they reach the petri dish and they are faster than girl sperm. Buy who knows! It will be interesting to see the stats in our group. :)

Hugs to everyone else. Miss you 2have and praying!


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## froggyfrog

How exciting your appointment got bumped 2have! And so adorable about your dd!!! She sounds cute!!

My heatburn comes and goes, but tums seems to help so I guess it's not really that bad. 

7 days until my anatomy scan! I can't believe I'm a week away from being halfway done!


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## froggyfrog

Fern, yes he is still kicking. I feel him a few times a day, I'm feeling him now as I'm typing lol! Yesterday he was a little more quiet, and when I put the dipper on him he was staying in the same spot so I'm assuming he just had a sleepy day yesterday.


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## Fern81

Oh sorry cross posted with you 2have! Phew glad you're going to see your dr tomorrow. I'm definitely getting the gd test at my next appointment too, I've been reading up on it thanks to you. Scary.

Congrats on your dd walking! Sounds so cute!


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## froggyfrog

His room is starting to come together!


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## Fern81

Wow froggy that's amazing!!


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## beemeck

Yes fern I will be having a laparoscopic surgery done. Not looking forwArd to it but it's better than a laprotomy ! 

Congrats on the boy! I had no idea what I was looking at either lol

So many appts and scans coming up! We are on a nice schedule that we have something almost every day - yay :)


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## rebecca822

Congrats Fern!! Yay!! 

Froggy that looks great.

Thankfully I'm feeling much better since Sunday.


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## 2have4kids

Congrats on a boy Fern :happydance:
We just signed DD up for swimming lessons for September, it should be loads of fun!


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## Fern81

Thanks for all the well wishes :).

Taking over the thread today- I'm watching "I didn't know I was pregnant" and in this episode the lady goes into labour at a theme park. She thought she was just having period cramps but it kept getting worse (obviously); she still went on all the rides including the fastest rollercoaster! After getting off the rollercoaster she gave birth in the theme park bathroom. WTH!!??


----------



## froggyfrog

Fern that show weirds me out, I just don't get it. Especially if that I have felt some strong baby movements and kicks, how could you not know? Funny story, me and dh watched a few episodes a long time ago and I had a bunch of ice cream and started having really bad pains because i don't tolerate dairy very well, and he said "your not about to have a baby right"? His eyes were so big and he was so scared lol!


----------



## 2have4kids

Froggy lovely room so far! 
Ladies I've watched that show too and just don't understand how women don't know they're pregnant. And it kills me when they have baby in hand and proclaim how the baby turned out just perfect. If you've had alcohol during your pregnancy or were anemic how are you going to see signs of FAS or learning disabilities? FAS effects how effectively they're able to form relationships with people, how they learn. Anemia during pregnancy effects learning disabilities that happen later on when they're learning to speak and read. :grr:


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## nimbec

Yay amazing congratulations Fern little boys are so loving and usually mummies boys :) How exciting!! 

Froggy gosh time will fly scan will be here in no time at all! 

2have awww amazing times and so cute - it all happens too fast!

Pinkie so sorry you are struggling - can they give you some ranitiadine to help?

Beemack good luck!! 

Rebecca i had hyperemesis with my fist and lots of IV's they are amazing - could you ask for some Ondansetron to take regularly for the sickness? Sorry you are still suffering :( 

Sorry such a quick post ladies ...crazy here!


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## rebecca822

Nimbec I had hypermesis with my DD but thankfully this pregnancy has been so much better. I'm feeling much better since the weekend, I have that medicine but I don't feel the need to take it much anymore.

Fern it seems like this thread has lots of boys on the way, not too many girls yet!

Can't wait for the rest of the gender scans. 

Really these ladies who didn't know they were pregnant is just crazy. I agree the mom needs to take care of herself when she's pregnant and how do they not feel a moving watermelon in their uterus?


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## Pinkie3

I missed a lot yesterday. 

Congratulations on team blue fern, lovely news. 

Froggy, cute nursery, you are very efficient to have that done already. I haven't brought a single thing for baby yet, I will get organised in a few weeks. 

2have, arh your little girl is walking, she is growing too fast. Best of luck with your scan today, enjoy seeing your little ones. 

Rebecca, glad you are feeling better.

Myshel, glad the heartburn is easing, I have better days but not sure what is triggering it because I eat the same thing everyday. Just hormones I think. 

Its scary how often women don't know they are pregnant, but to be honest apart from feeling unwell I don't feel or look pregnant at all. I saw a women on TV recently who didn't know, her periods were never regular, she had no symptoms and not a hint of a bump, they showed photos of her 2 weeks before she gave birth and she was stick thin. She had a bit of gas and wind which she thought was her diet but now realises it was probably baby moving. Crazy.

Thanks for your well wishes I had a much better day yesterday and got out the house. I think this is the way my pregnancy is going to go, good days and bad days. 

X


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## Fern81

Hope your day is good today too pinkie. X

2have how was your consult?

Rebecca- eeekkk tomorrow's scan! !

Who else is having a consult or scan this week? I seem to remember there was someone else. Oi brain.

I've been feeling lil man move again :). Last night we had cake to celebrate and he kicked me so hard I could feel it from the outside! Yay!


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## elliecain

Fern, I have my 12 week scan tomorrow! I'm really excited, as this is usually the point that women announce their pregnancy in the UK, once they've had this scan. I'm going to announce if the NT measurement is normal, even though I don't get my trisomy ratio (1:whatever) until the bloods come back.


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## 2have4kids

Ellie all the best with your scan, I'm sure your NT will go swimmingly!

The consult was great, I absolutely love my OB to bits. It sounds like the delivery complications with twins are when the second baby that comes out is much larger than the first. She said it doesn't matter if the second is breach, they know how to turn them around it's the size that matters. Isn't that a universal truth?:haha: 

She referred me to the GD clinic, they will tell me how they want to test my sugars. I was told you don't have to drink the orange sugar, they can do bloodwork too for diagnosis.

She did a scan and both were head down and heads together. She looked up at me and said 'they're already scheming!!':rofl: Both looked great, with strong heartbeats. I get my second detailed anatomy scan at 18 weeks Sept 27th and then every month after that.

Wow Fern, you're really coming along if you're starting to feel kicks on the outside!:bunny:

Edit: I had a twin tell me that we should never EVER tell them which one was delivered first. They will forever be fighting about who's oldest, even if it's by 28 minutes. Twins can be very competitive and this lady said it was a serious bone of contention that was in the center of many fights.


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## Myshelsong

Congrats Ellie! 12 weeks is so exciting.

Rebecca glad you are feeling better.

2have sounds like a great doctor! How cute your little people in that position.

Froggy you are so far ahead of the game with that nursery! It looks so adorable.


Doctors appointment tomorrow, it is going to be basic just weight and blood pressure. Nothing else with my doctor until I switch to OB on September 23. But we have booked our gender scan for September 10!!! Woop woop.
Getting pizza tonight, had mom over today for lunch and just didn't feel like cooking lol.


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## Myshelsong

My nephews are twins and were like two minutes apart. No lie. It was boom boom with my sister. They always go on about how one is the older brother and one is the younger brother, it is kind of funny. They are 13 now but the older does pull "rank" but he probably would even if he was the younger one, he is just a card.


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## froggyfrog

My brothers are twins, and I'm not sure I remember any competition about who was born first. Although they are complete opposite of each other and don't even really get along most of the time so maybe they just didn't care enough lol.


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## rebecca822

My husbands brothers are twins and there's really no competition about who's older. I'm surprised that people would make such a big deal about who is first.

2have- remind me, you're staying team yellow?

Yay ellicain we are scan buddies tomorrow! I'm so excited to confirm the genders!


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## Rq120

Travelled from Indiana to Nashville Tennessee and back the last few days for work. I'm about an hour from home and can't wait! Of course I slept poorly in a hotel bed last night. Although I sleep poorly most nights now. I don't have any other pregnancy symptoms to complain about besides sleep so I guess I have to have something. 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their scans. I love seeing the pics. I have my anatomy scan next Tuesday and I am very exciting about it. 

Hope everyone is doing well.


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## Rq120

Oh and I have felt lots of kicks yesterday and today! Love it


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## Fern81

Rq you should be able to see the gender too! And then a confirmation at your 20 week scan :). But regardless the anatomy scan will be great!

Oohh looking forward to your scan results today Rebecca and ellie. I absolutely love every bit of good news in this ltttc group even more. :). Ellie- I was also initially classed as high risk for chromosomal abnormalities because of my age, the fact that we did ivf, and my low PAPP-A count. But the nt measurements put me back to low risk (now just to keep monitoring blood pressure & platelets & baby's growth). Chances are very high that all is perfectly good with you!

So glad all is looking good 2have. And that you are getting assessed for gd. Lol unfortunately those obvious kicks (and the one I felt from outside ) have quieted down again... I'm guessing baby was just hyperactive after me having that piece of cake!


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## Fern81

Myshel I thought you knew you were having a boy? Am I confused? lol


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## Pinkie3

2have, so pleased everything went well with the scan and they are keeping tabs on your GD, sounds like the twins are getting up to mischief already, I love it. 

Rebecca, Ellie, good luck with your scans today, will look forward to hearing about them. 

Myshel, what is your gut feeling for the gender? 

Hi to everyone else, hope you've had a good week. I can't believe it's Friday already. Anyone doing anything the weekend? 

I am meeting up with two ex colleagues in the city tonight. I am a bit nervous because I haven't been out in months and hope I am feeling ok. I am driving in so if I feel unwell I can leave. We were going to a restaurant but I've had to change it because there is no way I could sit there and eat so my lovely friends kindly changed the venue and we are going to cool bar instead, it's quite relaxed so they can eat and I can just have a drink and maybe a bowl of chips or something.


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## Myshelsong

Fern81 said:


> Myshel I thought you knew you were having a boy? Am I confused? lol

Sorry I meant to write anatomy scan not gender.
We are having a boy confirmed by harmony test a few weeks ago.


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## elliecain

I had such a good dating scan today. I'll be putting a picture on my diary shortly.
CRL 5.36cm so due date changed to 17th March and I'm 12 weeks today!

NT was 1.3mm, low risk for trisomies, but will get a final risk ratio next week, once bloods are processed. Such a relief. We FB announced just now and I've already had so much love!


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## Fern81

Congrats on a great scan ellie!! I saw the pic; beautiful baby xxx. Would you like me to change your edd on the front page?

Pinkie I hope you have a lovely evening with no sickness!

Rebecca - stalking in anticipation :)


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## elliecain

Yes, please do change my date to 17th March :)


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## rebecca822

We have a boy and a girl!!!

I'm over the moon!

Ellicain- so glad your scan went well.


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## Fern81

Yay congrats rebecca!!! Great news hun :) officially the first girl!


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## rebecca822

Fern81 said:


> Yay congrats rebecca!!! Great news hun :) officially the first girl!

I know this group is full of boys!


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## 2have4kids

Ellie great news with the 12 week nt scan & tests! Lovely & reassuring to know everything is healthy with baby yes?

Rebecca, congrats on the perfect combo...I hope I'm as lucky as you are!

Fern the constant kicks & hiccups will come soon!

Pinkie. Have a great time tonight. That sounds like you sussed a perfect outcome for everyone. Don't drink too much:haha:

Well it's my birthday today and I'm exhhausted and it's a little rainy outside so we're just hanging around the house. I dug cake out to practice my buttercream decorating skills and it was too moist from how I stored it (Note to self to never use plastic wrap again)! So While icing it it just crumbled. DH was happy to get birthday cake to eat right away:wacko:


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## froggyfrog

Congrats rebecca!!! That's exciting!!!

Happy birthday 2have!!! Sorry about your caje, but I'm sure it still tasted delicious!


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## elliecain

Yay Rebecca, one of each, how perfect!
Happy birthday 2have :)


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## rebecca822

I'm really happy it's one of each. It's nice to have twins but sometimes there's a lot of competition between the two when it's the same gender and they share groups of friends, etc. with boy/girl they'll sort of each grow up seperately which I like.

Happy birthday 2have, id still devour that cake lol! Sorry you got crappy weather on your birthday :(

We're spending the weekend at my moms. DD is actually there now and I was napping. DH will be home from work soon and pick me up to go over there. We have a big party tomorrow since family friend just got married so we're all getting together to hang out and have lunch.

I get to see my babies again at my 20 week scan which is in 3 weeks. It'll be a long 3 weeks but hopefully the time will go by quickly.


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## Myshelsong

Yay Rebecca congratulations!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend with family and friends.

Happy birthday 2have, I bet that cake tasted delicious regardless of the icing job.

Long weekend here we come! Spending time with family for a few hours every day and then working on at home projects. The weather is going to be nice all weekend as well, I am so happy. Farmers market in the morning here we come!


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## Fern81

Happy birthday 2have! Hope you had a lovely day & here's to a blessed year ahead. :) xx that cake looks yummy actually lol :) sometimes the "flops" taste even better!

Hope everybody has a nice weekend. I'm spring cleaning the house before tomorrow's big gender reveal party, oi! After a night with no sleep because dh slept like a tornado AND there was a shootout & police chase down our street at 3am!!! So scary. I'm tired already to say the least.


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## Pinkie3

Happy birthday 2have, hope you had a lovely day. A cake does not need to look good to taste good! 

Rebecca, congratulations on your team pink and blue. Enjoy your family party. 

Myshel, I thought you were having a boy and then thought I must have mixed you up with someone else. Enjoy your busy weekend, makes all the difference when the sun is shining, we have rain!! 

It was so nice to get dressed up and go out last night. Had a lovely catch up with my friends, it helps that for the last couple of days I have felt like a human being again. I am praying it lasts. With that in mind I finally bit the bullet and booked myself into the pregnancy yoga group starting next week. I am nervous, one I have never done yoga before and two I hope I feel ok that day so I don't throw up or pass out. I am pleased to be getting on with something, I read giving birth is like running a marathon and my fitness levels at the moment are zero! 

Have a good weekend all X


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## 2have4kids

Fern sorry you had a crappy sleep. Good luck with the gender reveal party!

Pinkie glad you had a good time with the girls. Have fun in yoga, you'll do just fine.

Today I'm photographing my car and listing it. Then mom's making me a birthday dinner:happydance:


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## Rq120

Happy birthday 2have

Yay on the genders Rebecca. That is exciting. 

DH has wanted to do a garage sale for a while so I finally relented and have been helping him clean out the house all day. I finally wrapped it up and told him I need a bath and to relax for an hour before some friends come over for drinks and a fire tonight. The bath was MUCH needed. My body was a little sore and instantly felt better in the warm water. We also went to the farmers market and got some fresh veggies for dinner tomorrow.


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## 2have4kids

Rq yum, love farmers markets. We just had a birthday dinner at moms and had beets, cucumber salad, carrots & mashed potatoes from the market. Was sooo good! But Autumn always has bountiful food at the market.

Enjoy the time with your friends!


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## Myshelsong

We did farmers market today as well! Got some great veggies and some sweet plums. The beans were delicious and I got a bunch of beets to can this week. So excited, trying to decide if we want to try to do tomato sauce this year, but wondering if I am biting off more than I can chew....

Anyone do any canning?


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## 2have4kids

Hi Myshel, I've done pickled beets, beans, onions, antipasto, and kiwi jam in the past. It's alot of work! Gl with it.


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## rebecca822

Myshel, I have never canned before but I have made homemade pickles.
Good luck with the canning it sounds delicious!


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## Pinkie3

Good luck with your canning myshel, sounds lovely, I never done it myself. 

I love shopping at farmer markets but unfortunately that's not happened in while. Hope everyone is enjoying their busy weekends. 

Mine has been fairly chilled, the weather by me was horrendous yesterday which meant a TV box set day. Today we were suppose to go to my in laws for a Sunday roast as I am desperate to try and eat some veggies but MIL had fallen ill so was cancelled last minute. I was a bit disappointed because I got myself upset yesterday for not eating very well. DH was going to the shops to pick up dinner and I couldn't think of anything I could stomach, every suggestion made me feel ill so I said to just pick me up a bag of chips, I then immediately burst into tears (I blame the hormones). I had a little heart to heart with DH about how guilty I am feeling about my eating habits at the moment. Before getting pregnant I have always been really healthy, I would prefer a piece of fish and veg over burger and chips anyday but I can't face any of my usual foods and eating everything I would usually avoid. At the moment I am living on chips, baked potatoes, ready salted crisps, toast, cereal and the occasional piece of fruit that I can manage. I know I am being hard on myself but I can't help but feel so guilty and keep talking to my bump saying 'I'm sorry'. I am taking my pregnancy vitamins supplements and drinking a lot of water and trying to think that at least I am eating and staying hydrated. Is anyone feeling like this or is it just me because of my lack of appetite? Sorry for the little rant, it's been playing on my mind for ages and I think that's why I got upset yesterday. X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie, do not feel guilty for a minute. You eat what you can tolerate and the baby will be ok! With my 4 year old I was sick the whole pregnancy, like you, and only ate carbs. Pasta, bread, crackers, potatoes, etc and my DD is perfectly happy and healthy!
I'm also used to eating healthy and it's hard for me to have bad eating habits but I eat what I can tolerate.


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## Fern81

Farmer's markets are lovely! We are at the end of winter now though (it's officially been spring since Sept 1) so even my veggie garden has to be replanted for spring & summer. 

Pinkie- at least you are taking a pregnancy vitamin, it could have been worse. Maybe baked sweet potato can be a good option instead of chips, lentils/beans or hard boiled egg whites for protein (if you can't stomach the yolks), mashed cauliflower tastes a lot like potato (to me at least :) ) for some type of veg? Good luck hun, I can't imagine being unable to eat a variety of foods and I feel really sorry for you!! 

The gender reveal party was nice but also poignant because my mom was soooo sure it's a girl, she had bought girl clothing which made me sad to look at. And two of my bil's were very rude & called me fat etc but at least they only stayed for an hour and then left to go drink themselves into a stupor (I told them beforehand that they would not be allowed to drink at my party!). Everything else was very nice and the family were all so nice & supportive and seemed to like the name we had chosen. 

For the reveal we made a blue card with a few ultrasound pics, his name and the meaning of his name. The card was sealed in a white envelope and everyone opened it at the same time while DH filmed their reactions. My dad had tears in his eyes, so did my mil. I cried of course lol.


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## Rq120

So sweet Fern. I'm glad you had a good party (except for your BILs).

Today is Labor Day in the US and while everyone is sleeping soundly in their beds, I got up at 5:50 am to work at the hospital. It is holiday pay so that means 1.5 differential. I work this weekend also so today is day 1 of 12 days in a row. 

However, after day 12 we go on vacation!!


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## Prayingforno1

Hello everyone. Sorry I&#8217;ve been MIA for a while; I was super busy at work and didn&#8217;t have a chance to log in during the day then by the time I got home was so beat I was only showering and bed. I am still catching up but I hope everyone is doing well. You guys have been so busy I have a lot to catch up on. 

I see there have been a lot of gender announcements congrats to everyone who found out and I am excited for the rest of us that are still patiently waiting to confirm &#8211;Definitely a lot of boys in this group!

Rq-It&#8217;s great to hear you are feeling your baby&#8217;s kicks, I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s an amazing feeling

Fern-Your gender reveal party sounds nice. It&#8217;s nice you were able to share that with your family along with the name. 

2have-Happy belated birthday!! Sorry your cake didn&#8217;t come out as planned but I find that funky looking desserts normally taste the best.

Pinkie-Yoga sounds good, I hope it goes well and those bad feelings stay away.

AFM-Had my last doctor visit about 2 weeks ago. They didn&#8217;t do a scan at that visit just took the baby&#8217;s heartbeat and did the test for downs which came back low. Needless to say we cannot wait until our next visit where we can see our baby and hopefully find out the gender. Although much better, I am still feeling nauseous and still no increase in appetite. Despite this my tummy is getting larger and my breasts are so full I went up a size already!! 

Hope everyone has a great day!!


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## 2have4kids

Rq that's a lot of wofk days in a row! It'll make vaca that much better. 

Fern glad to hear the gender reveal party was fun, how rude of your bil's. We can't choose our family...you did a wonderful job of handling them. 

Pinkie, don't feel to badly about the diet. Try to do one thing for yourself everyday if you're having so much stress over it. Try a baked potato or yam over the chips etc. i peel yam and pop it in the microwave when I feel I can tolerate carbs. I also just read that fruit has a huge impact on baby in a positive way so I've been having berries in milk once/day. I nearly barfed after breaky (a little greek yoghurt & gluten free toast) but managed to wait it out without it happening this morning. And then I had my fruit. 

Praying congrats on a low downs test, isn't it a relief to know baby is healthy! 

Afm DH asked me to go to Vancouver to stay at his brothers place while he's in Australia. I can't stand his bro, he's a divorced chauvenist pig. I said no thank you. Why would I want to sleep in his bed, he also still lives like a dirty bachelor at the age of 55. Yuk! I couldn't think of a more uncomfortable place to stay, and this would be a vacation? I have the week off, I'm co-hosting a shower next weekend (that he'd expect me to ditch), a car to sell, a rental suite to show & rent, and cake & cake pop decorating/baking to practice. I also got into it with DH last night. I asked him to put his phone & fb down while he's parenting DD as he's not paying attention to her. The brand new hardwood floors are sticky all over because he's ignoring her allowing her to play with juice bottles while he's in charge. She squeezes the nipes and juice gets all over the floors and her clothing. When I ask what happened MacKinley did it...as if she's the responsible adult in the room. So I come home to mess and DD is being ignored while I'm gone:nope: So instead of simply being 'there' for her he takes me off his fb. Such an a$$.:dohh:i aldo told him he needs to start washing her laundry. He puts her in her best dresses, many of which need ironing, over regular play clithes during the week. And guess who gets to wash everything? I'm writing a list to talk about in counselling. It's already a page long and less thsn a week from the last :grr:


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## rebecca822

Praying I'm sorry that you're still feeling sick. I hope it gets better soon.

2have- your DH sounds like he needs to grow up a bit I hope he plans on being more hands on when the twins arrive. My DH was a bit selfish today and it was upsetting. Today in the us is Labor Day and we both had off from work. Well DH did get up and went to exersize but then he sat around all day in his sweats even though he knew I wanted to go on a family outing. I ended up doing grocery shopping on my own and getting my car cleaned while he stayed home and napped. I came home to a sloppy mess since he made himself lunch and didn't clean up after himself.

Ughh lazy husbands!!


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## Prayingforno1

Sigh, there must be something in the air because my DH is driving me up the wall. I have been so bored and expressed this with him it's like i work and come home and my only outing is the supermarket! He says please bear with me he has so much work etc but then whenever someone calls him to meet up he finds the time and I should understand and be okay with this. Why am I not the priority? Sometimes even when we are both home I feel alone. This weekend I am going to find something to do even if I do it alone. It's just so frustrating.


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## rebecca822

Praying sorry to hear about your DH. I also decided to just go out on my own and not wait around for DH or id never get to leave the house.
He went out to dinner with a friend and brought me home fries which is one of my favorite things right now so he won me back over really quickly.
Then we had a serious talk about finances and how we're going to afford full time babysitting once the babies arrive. We have money saved up but we don't want to use that, that's for emergency fund and not daily spending.
Since there's 2 babies we can't share a babysitter which is what I did the past few years for DD. Sharing a babysitter costs $6 an hour instead of $12. Since there are two babies it will cost $12 so I may as well have my own babysitter in the house.


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## Myshelsong

Hope everyone is doing well this week. 
Sounds like the DH's are on nerves over the weekend. Hope it all works out and gets better soon. 

Hubs and I are doing well, thankfully. It feels like we have been together forever but we have really grown together the last year since doing the adoption training. It had some really great discussion tools and made us both really open up about what we want, who we want to become and how to get there. Although we are both thrilled we are able to conceive, we really found a lot of value in those classes for our relationship moving forward. 

Yay anatomy scan this week!!
Anyone else doing an anatomy scan soon - or have any other scans coming up?


----------



## froggyfrog

Sorry about the husbands ladies!! I hope that things can get better for you. 

We actually havent had one fight since I got pregnant. It's been really nice. There us a new vibe going on in the house, which makes me wonder if most of our stress was ttc other than other things. We never really fought a whole lot anyway though. Dh and I are one of those couples that go everywhere and do everything together. People think we are crazy but we never get tired of being around each other. The very start of our marriage, we worked together, so we were together 24/7, and we have always hung out with each others friends so we would just go out together. I know a lot of peopLe say that their best friends with their spouse, but we seriously are best friends.

My anatomy scan is tomorrow!!! Eeeek!!! So excited to see my guy! 

My cousin had her baby at about 12:15 am today and he is absolutely gorgeous. It's exciting that Gage will have a cousin so close in age


----------



## Pinkie3

Sorry to hear about the DH troubles, men really are from a different planet sometimes. Every relationship is different and I think you need to do what works for you. Luckily DH and I don't argue and this TTC journey has brought us closer than ever, but that's not to say he doesn't drive me mad sometimes when he throws his clothes all over the floor, doesn't take his cups out or always finds time to play golf! Anyone seen that video posted on Facebook about the magic washing basket and the magic table? It's brilliant and even DH found it hilarious because it's so true! 

Praying, nice to hear from you, sorry you are sick feeling sick. We are a day apart and mine has only started to ease and I still have the odd day. I have already explained my lack of appetite so feel you on that too. Let's hope in time it gets better.

Froggy, myshel, best of luck with your scans, I can't believe we are all getting to this stage. Mine is not for another two weeks. 

Fern, glad the gender party went well and the BILs left early, sounds like it was a bit more relaxing without them. 

Thanks for your advice my guilty eating, I am feeling much better about things now. I spoke to a dietician/nutritionist who said baby would take everything it needs from my stores and that eating and drink anything is better than nothing. I would need to be severely malnourished to starvation point for it to have any effect on the baby. I generally feel better in the morning so I am going to try and eat my healthiest then so that its over and done with.

X


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## Myshelsong

Pinkie, glad you went to a nutritionist... That makes me feel better as well. I keep trying to eat healthy but I know I could be doing so much better. I have never been crazy healthy and haven't been a healthy BMI for so long, trying to make those good choices is so hard.


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## Prayingforno1

froggyfrog-My anatomy scan is next week. We haven't seen our bean in a while so I am so excited/anxious.

I am also trying to eat healthy although it has been difficult with my hectic work schedule. My dinner last night was not the best I picked up a baked potato and small caesar salad on the way home


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## 2have4kids

Glad to hear about your nutritionist praying. Sorry about all the crap with the husbands ladies! Mine left me to do some work yesterday and took DD for a walk. Then he got us pizza for dinner. I got through 1.5 pieces before I felt like clinging to the toilet. Later on toward bedtime I was peckish again so I mixed up a chocolate protein shake. Hot chocolate would have made me feel sick with the amount of sugar and I didn't have enough protein all day so this worked out nicely. Except that DD really wanted some of mummy's drink too. I gave her a few spoons full but when I told her that was enough she was tired and blew a fit. Poor think didn't sleep till half midnight last night. Thankfully DH is a night owl, I was falling asleep after reading her her usual 15+ books and singing her her lullabies:wacko:

Ladies I highly recommend starting the lullabies from birth and the books from at least 2 months. My gf's DD won't even sit for a book, she started too late and now her DD won't sit for them, simply not interested. Lullabies and books are that extra tool for sleep training. DD doesn't respond well to baths before bed, it seems to get her going for some reason. I think the warm water creates inflammation and her teeth ache more at the end of a day with a bath. So I make sure it's at least 2 hours before bed and have lots of books and songs. Her 1 special bedtime teddy, soft blanket and the books usually queue her up nicely.


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## rebecca822

DH and I don't fight a lot at all because I try to overlook his laziness as much as a I can. He's usually really great with cooking but then leaves the house a mess. But I guess I can't be so picky.

Yay, two anatomy scans coming up. Froggy can't wait to hear about yours! Fingers crossed for good news!

I scheduled mine for September 27 and I am already so excited and anxious!!


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## 2have4kids

17 weeks tomorrow! 
(picture removed)


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## rebecca822

Great bump 2have! I'll try to post my bump pic tomorrow. I'm too tired now.


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## elliecain

Lovely picture 2have! Beautiful little bump.


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## Fern81

Sending you all hugs and sympathy with the husband issues!!!!! Men..... so interesting to see it's not so much a cultural issue as it is a general MAN issue.

Looking forward to hearing about today's scans! X

My next scan is only at 24 weeks (14 oct). Will do the anatomy scan then.

Cute bump 2have! Mine is really 4 times as big with a singleton. I have a small frame (I'm not thin but my skeleton is small & narrow if that makes sense so everything is sticking out to the front!) I can't imagine getting even bigger. Already had my fill of people's comments. :/

Sorry about the short post. I'm super busy at work but thinking of you all xx


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## froggyfrog

I had my anatomy scan today with the MFM. My OB wanted it done with them because apparently IVF babies are a slight increased chance of heart defect. The baby wasn't fully cooperative, and she couldn't see everything she wanted, but she could see that he has four chambers and they are all pumping the right way. But everything else loos good with him! I have to go back in 4 weeks to see if he is laying in a better position to check his heart in further detail. I will also have to go back at 28 weeks to make sure his growth is on track because I have hypothyroid, and she also wants to keep an eye on my placenta because so far I have placenta previa. She is confident that we still have plenty of time for it to move, so I'm trying not to stress about it. I just really don't want a c section, and I'm on pelvic rest so no doing the deed :(


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## rebecca822

Froggy I'm glad your scan was good. Sorry to hear about placenta previa, I know a few people who needed c sections for that.
Hopefully it will resolve itself!


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## Rq120

2have - great bump pic! Thanks for sharing.

Froggy - yay for having a good anatomy scan.

I wrote a post yesterday, but this stupid site messed it up and didn't post it. I can't even remember what I shared....

Last night I wasn't feeling the best. DH said I looked really grey and I guess I kinda scared him. I laid down for about an hour and a half and felt better. Feeling much better today. We are taking a hospital tour tonight.


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## rebecca822

Rq, glad you're feeling better.
Since you brought up the hospital your, I have a question regarding hospitals.
Do you ladies get private rooms for recovery?
Where I am it's a gurantee, they don't even have shared rooms. I know some people in other cities that have had to share rooms after birth. That scares me!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca unless you're in the new South Campus hospital you share a room with all the other hospitals and there are nightmares if the deliveries being so busy you wait in the waiting room until you're 6+ cm before you get a room. So no pain meds until you get a room. I'm in the new hospital thankfully! There are private rooms with bathrooms and birthing pools if you have time. You choose a song that plays over yhe hospital intercom when baby arrives and there's a menu to order food. After DD both DH and I ordered the salmon rice & veggies. They call it the Hilton of the hospitals:haha:
The OB said this time I won't be delivering in the room, with twins they take you into the operating theatre. Unless it's already busy but she said there's more people required to help with the birth and they all fit better in the theatre rather than your room.


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## Prayingforno1

have-Nice bump.

Froggy-Glad to hear you scan goes well and hoping that placenta moves out the way in the coming weeks

Rq-Good to hear you are feeling better. Amazing what a little shut eye can do. Let us know how your tour goes.


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## Fern81

Congrats on a great scan froggy!


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## Rq120

The tour was great. We are delivering at a Women's Hospital and it is only 1 of 2 hospitals in the state where they have a top level NICU. All the hospital does is labor and delivery and NICU so it is quite a special place. Rebecca, all private rooms. They are up on all the latest data and are big on skin to skin and breastfeeding. They even have crazy pain relief techniques like aromatherapy, bath pools they can move to the room, and Nitrous Oxide gas! It is quite a cool place and after the tour I'm really glad we chose it.

DH is having a garage sale tomorrow so I'm working from home. I'm so close to my anatomy scan (Tuesday) and vacation (leaving next Saturday) that I'm sooooo ready for this week to be over. I went to the dentist today and the lady was super surprised at my gums. She said I'm doing great for being pregnant and most women suffer from poor dental health (bleeding gums, etc) from the pregnancy hormones.


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## rebecca822

Rq sounds like a nice place to give birth.
By us the hospital is super clean and fresh but it's not brand new. The bathrooms could use some updating but they're really clean.
A birthing pool sounds nice but it's not offered by us. There are several different hospitals to choose from but the one where my OB delivers doesn't have. 
As 2have mentioned, I will also give birth in the OR. Hopefully it will be a vagainally birth but we'll see when the time comes. I had a c section so my chances of a vbac with twins are quite low..


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## froggyfrog

We have a tour scheduled for the 17th, so I will find out more about our hospital. I'm pretty certain the rooms are private. 

It looks like I may have GD :(. I have been crying all morning. I have my one hour glucose test tomorrow.


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## Rq120

I'm going to try vaginally. My docs are all for it unless both babies are breech. The room is plenty big and I don't expect to have to give birth outside of a labor room unless it is going to be a C-section. They have a great navigator program where I can meet with a nurse one-on-one. I can ask that question later just to make sure.

Froggy - I'm sorry about the GD. Sucks that you have to go through all of that. Best wishes for your test tomorrow. :hugs:


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## 2have4kids

Oh Froggy, don't cry! GD is something we can easily work around! It really doesn't hurt to do the pin prick sugar test. I just got my kit this morning and then went to costco and loaded up on easy high protein foods. I'm getting tired of cooking all the time. I refused to do the sugar drink test and they're not even taking bloods to do a GD test, they're just believing me. Thank goodness! You can still have all the carbs you were eating before but you need to ensure you eat protein & veg with them every time. Or if not veg, some sort of fiber helps. 

Lovely hospital tours ladies. I was SO excited for gas and air as there are so many hilarious stories on the b&b thread about funny delivery stories...but it did nothing for me. I'll definitely try again this pregnancy and if still nothing I'll try to sneak some to DH just to see if it does anything for him:haha:

Rq my OB said as long as twin #1 has head down they can turn the other one around. So then I watched a youtube video of a natural twin birth and the doctor stuck his hand right up there to do something to twin #2. She was in major pain - freaked me right out! Epidural here I come if this is the way they do it!!


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## Fern81

Froggy - aahh sorry to hear that hun! Did they pick it up with tests yesterday on Tuesday? At least once you know for sure, you can keep an eye on it. Hugs!!! 

I should book a hospital tour. Keep forgetting.


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## froggyfrog

Fern, they found glucose in my urine this morning. I had my regular OB today. After my urine showed that, they pricked my finger and my sugar was really high. 

2have, thank you. I know it's easily manageable, and for the most part I make good choices, but have been giving into my cravings. It just makes me feel sad that I will have to be careful for the rest of my pregnancy. And that on top on the placenta previa sucks. I can't have any sex until my placenta moves. So now I'm looking at possibly not sugar or orgasms for 20 weeks :( my two favorite things!


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## rebecca822

Froggy im sorry to hear about the GD. I know it's super treatable but also kind of annoying!

2have- my doctor said the same thing about the position of the two babies. A needs to be head down for them to be able to deliver vagainally. Of course I hope I'll be able to, but who knows what will be.
Another 20 weeks so go! Amazing that we are all about half way there! I really can't wait for the big day and to finally meet my babies!!


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## Fern81

Froggy I'm so sorry that you're crying but man I had a laugh at your last sentence. Clearly only something a pregnant woman would understand!!

Dh just felt our baby kick for the first time!!


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## Prayingforno1

Aww man Froggy so sorry about the GD and no sex :(. I think that placenta will get out the way soon so you can have back at least one of your favorite things lol :)


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, sorry your last sentence made me laugh too, bless you. Sorry to hear about the GD I hope that nothing comes of it. You'll need to get DH to improvise :winkwink: it says avoid sex not avoid orgasms right? 

RQ, your hospital sounds lovely, must be nice to know where you going, I don't even know if we get hospital tours here? 

2have, cute bump! I don't like the sound of someone sticking their hand up there, I have heard that too often, does that really happen and why? 

Fern, that's a special moment DH feeling baby, it must be hard for the men sometimes. I can't wait to feel a kick myself first. 

I hope all mamas and babies are doing well? 

I went to my first pregnancy yoga class tonight which was good. It wasn't what I was expecting, I thought it would be a work out but was more about stretching, posture, connecting to the baby and breathing exercises. It's a 6 week session so I am assuming next week will be different? Apparently some of these techniques can be used to help labour so I will take whatever I can.


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## froggyfrog

Unfortunately they said no orgasms. The contraction could cause spotting.


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## froggyfrog

Fern, how exciting dh felt him!

Pinkie, glad yoga went well!


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## Myshelsong

Oh my froggy that sucks. The orgasm part, the GD I think you will do fine with, you are awesome :)

Jealous everyone is seeing the hospital we haven't even though at but that yet! Ahh I got to get on board quick

Hubs is downstairs right now playing video games with my brother who came over for the night lol. I took hi to get his fortune read and while we were there she did a mini one with me saying that my little guy is robust and super healthy. She also mentioned that I will be having a second one right away after this one which is hilarious. I told her it was a science miracle baby, before that comment and she still said their would be a second so we will see. I have been told this by three psycics now, I will have two kids within a year but not twins. I am interested to see how this goes!!


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## 2have4kids

Myshelsong said:


> Oh my froggy that sucks. The orgasm part, the GD I think you will do fine with, you are awesome :)
> 
> Jealous everyone is seeing the hospital we haven't even though at but that yet! Ahh I got to get on board quick
> 
> Hubs is downstairs right now playing video games with my brother who came over for the night lol. I took hi to get his fortune read and while we were there she did a mini one with me saying that my little guy is robust and super healthy. She also mentioned that I will be having a second one right away after this one which is hilarious. I told her it was a science miracle baby, before that comment and she still said their would be a second so we will see. I have been told this by three psycics now, I will have two kids within a year but not twins. I am interested to see how this goes!!

At 18 my friend saw a psychic who told her that I would be an alcoholic:haha: I've always been into sports and so far from being an alcoholic. I wondered how she knew this just from a photo. At the time she did the reading I was a swim instructor/life guard for city pools and was doing platform dive competitions. I was actually pretty resentful and weirdly my friendship with this best friend (for 7 years) ended abruptly over an indiscretion she had shortly afterward. I hope three kids happens for you if that's what you wish for. It did for us, we did ivf to achieve our dream family.


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## rebecca822

Myshel I'm pretty skeptical of psychics but who knows. I wonder if they have real powers.

2have- your SN is 2have4kids are you planning on having a 4th?


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## elliecain

My DH had his fortune read years ago and they told him he would have 2 sons but one would die...

His girlfriend 15 years ago was pregnant and quite a way along, when she found out her breast cancer had returned. She had to have treatment immediately, so they had to make the awful decision to terminate. It was a boy. She later died anyway. 

I'm still convinced this one is a girl, so maybe the boy will come next!


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## Fern81

Myshel idk whether to laugh or scream in frustration when people say that lol. My mom keeps telling me and EVERYONE who will listen, over and over, that I will definitely get pregnant again as soon as my son is born! Because clearly giving birth once makes all fertility problems disappear for good. :dohh: she also said for years that she knows I will definitely fall pregnant if I just relax. I keep telling her uhm I have very severe endometriosis including chocolate cysts that's invaded my ovaries and messed up my egg cells & destroyed my left ovary & causes a toxic uterine environment which kills off embryos... and my ivf baby is a miracle but we will most likely need ivf again. Also, we will NOT be trying naturally because we want to give our frosties a shot first. Nope she ignores me flat. And this after years of saying I shouldn't have kids at all (I used to be an addict so obviously it's guaranteed my kids will all be addicts. Never mind I overcame addiction and have actually been very healthy, successful and happy for MOST of my life). 

Pinkie I'm sure you'll be able to feel your bubs soon :). I don't have very strong core muscles, my bump is huge and stretched! And placenta is tucked away to the top and back so I'm sure that's why I started feeling him sooner. It's an awesome feeling. Are you finding out the sex or remaining team yellow? 

Boo froggy!! There's always sleep orgasms lol! Hugs hun. Xx


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, oh no I didn't realise it was no orgasms at all! What a nightmare. Ok don't think about them because the more you do the more you will want one. 

Fern, It drives me mad too when people tell me how they know this person who fell pregnant straight after IVF and these are people that know my history. My response is 'unless I am the next Virgin Mary that's never going to happen because I have no tubes'. But in the next breath and I want to bunch myself in the face for saying this, I have seen it loads too especially on these boards but they are usually people that have unexplained inferility and good luck to them. 

Myshel, I hope that it does happen for you, if I believe in fortune telling or not I think holding onto that hope and belief can only be a good thing. 

2have, I shouldn't laugh but an alcoholic ha ha, and Ellie, what a awful story about your DH ex that is so sad. I didn't think these people were allowed to tell you the bad stuff? I know a girl (this is a true story) who had her fortune read and was told that her current boyfriend was not 'the one' and do you know what she did? She left him :wacko:

Fern, I am sticking with team yellow for now, my thought process on this is that if I am going through all that agony to give birth I want a surprise at the end. I am enjoying the suspense at the moment. 

I take back what I said yesterday about this yoga not being a work out, my arms and legs are really achy today! I am so pleased I went, it's only been 12 hours but I am already consciously thinking about some of the things she taught us about how to sit, how to move, how to get up etc so you keep you body in alignment to stop ligament pain and back aches etc it was really interesting and I recommend it if you have a class near you.


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## rebecca822

18 weeks today!
 



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## elliecain

Happy 18 weeks and lovely bump!


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> Myshel I'm pretty skeptical of psychics but who knows. I wonder if they have real powers.
> 
> 2have- your SN is 2have4kids are you planning on having a 4th?

After these twins come we're done with ivf. If we had one naturally then so be it but we're both pleased to have 3 kids.


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## 2have4kids

Fern it's infuriating to hear people say just relax and it'll happen. I've only had 1 person say this to me as I've educated most of my friends & family that certain medical conditions just don't make it possible to concieve naturally. Except for my Cuban gf. She believes I'm simply not enjoying bd with DH. But her & I are quite the opposite. She believes that if it's meant to happen that the universe will make it happen. And she's cheated on her bf, more than once. Then she married a guy that she cheated with her bf on. She had a c-section as she thought a natural delivery would affect her hoohaa. Sex is a big deal to her. To me, I'd rather have trust and a loving relationship than put sex as no. 1 and a string of unfulfilling relationships. You can have amazing sex without being a philanderer. It's important yes! But it doesn't rule my relationship. But that's why DH and I have been together for 18 years and she's blown through 3 relationships and 6 men in the past 4 years. I can't deal with all her bunk! I think this is the attitude of someone who has no understanding of medical technology and no awareness of fertility issues. Despite all that I've done to educate her she goes back to her basic belief that if I'd just let my hair down and stop being so uptight things would happen :nope: I've distanced myself from her, I can only believe that she's very unhappy in her own relationship and she'd only say these things to upset me because of her own unhappiness. What else can we think about people like this?

Rebecca happy 18th week, lovely bump!

I don't believe in psychics. I think they are irresponsible for the things they say. For someone to say that I'd become an alcoholic. I didn't but how many people might be influenced by someone like that. It's dangerous & can be damaging when extremely negative stuff comes out.


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## froggyfrog

Happy 18 weeks Rebecca and great bump! 

I just nod and smile when people say it now. I just don't even try to explain myself anymore that dh has a severely low count that is only decreasing, and I have pcos. That combo will most likely never result in a pregnancy. I tell people that I most likely won't try for a natural pregnancy because I have frozen embryos, and when we are ready for number 2, I will go have one transferred


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## Myshelsong

I don't know, I do believe in the extra sense. Do I think that 100% the things I have been told are true, no. But the possibility of them warms my soul.
I come from a long line of women who believe, have seen and have practiced. My great grandmother use to read fortunes and was well known. My grandmother spoke with spirits, my mother gets impressions and I have dreams. It is all kinda crazy especially since my hubs doesn't believe in any of it lol.

Hope everyone's day is going well, have to run.


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## Fern81

Each to his own. I believe that some psychics have power to know a glimpse of the future etc... and like anyone else they can use it for good or for bad. I think most are frauds though. Having said that I will never go to one/have my fortune read in any case but that's because of our (dh and my) faith. 

Anyway I also hope everyone has a good weekend! I went to my niece's nursery school concert today and was very teary eyed! It's such a reminder of our journey. 2 years ago I cried at her concert because I was sad that I would probably never have kids. At last year's; dh and I had been working very hard at acceptance and I remember thinking I will be able to have a good life and not be sad about being childless. Now at this year's concert I'm pregnant with a miracle. :)


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## Pinkie3

Happy 18 weeks Rebecca, the bump is coming along nicely.

I have mixed views on psychics, I heard a recording of a reading my friend had done many years ago and it freaked the hell out of me, there was no way this women could have known what she did but then I have also had one done myself a long time ago and she could have been speaking about anyone. I don't agree with them telling you anything bad, I didn't think they were allowed to do this as some people take these things far too seriously. 

Fern, glad you had a wonderful time at the school concert, imagine what you are going to be like when your little one is in a concert of his own. It will be magical. 

Ladies, How have you or how are you going about choosing your baby name? We've had our girls name for a long time, it was my Nan name and I love it. But we are so struggling with boys name. There are a few that we like but nothing that we love and even though we still have a long way to go yet I am worried we are going to settle for someone because otherwise he will be nameless (that's if we have a boy obviously). And because I am one of the last in my friends and family to have a baby, I feel like all the best names have gone.

Have a good weekend everyone, we have rain today which is annoying, luckily we have some nice weather coming in over the next few days so will be making the most of that. X


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## froggyfrog

I'm sort of skeptical of psychics, but I do believe in premonitions to an extent. And I do believe in mediums. I don't think there are as many as people claim to be, but I do think there are people who exist that are more sensitive to spirits.


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## Fern81

Pinkie- we just couldn't agree on a boy's name. Dh hated all my suggestions. He started playing around with name scramblers (websites where you type in your & your partner's names or whichever names are important to you, then the website scrambles the letters & comes up with a combo name). At first I thought it was silly but in the end that's how we came up with our son's name. It consists of 3 letters from mine and 1 letter from my husband's name lol. And it means "God has shown grace" which we love. Some sites are a waste of time as they just scramble the letters & come up with nonsense. But some actually match the scrambled letters to legit names and those are then posted. This following website does a nice job:

https://www.babynamescramble.com/names/babynames.cgi


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## froggyfrog

Pinkie, you will figure it out. Dh came up with Gage, and I instantly fell in love with it. We have had gage chosen since we started ttc. We have tweaked the middle name a few times but finally settled on Matthew. I believe that when you hear or see it, you will know that's your lo's name.


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## Myshelsong

We can't figure out a boys name for the life of us! It is so hard, I never new how hard a name would be.

Beautiful bump btw, I must have missed the photo when I refreshed last time. You look so good.

It is raining here today but I am ok with it because we are finally getting rid of the humidity wave that came up last week. The Hamilton area broke a heat record last week. Ugh.

Drinking my water we have our anatomy scan in 40 minutes ... Trying not to freak out. Wish me luck.


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## Rq120

Myshelsong - good luck on you scan. I'm excited for you.

We are having a garage sale this weekend to clear out the junk before babies come and we move. We had it open yesterday and made a few hundred dollars but still have plenty to sell today. We have 10 plus years of accumulated junk.


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## 2have4kids

Myselsong all the best with your anatomy scan!

RQ I know what you mean with the accumulation. I've already really cleared out so much stuff but we have 3 desks that we'd like to keep for the kids but they're stuck in 1 bedroom. We have to find somewhere else to put them so that we can make that room into DD's bedroom and let the babies have the nursery. 

Pinkie we decided on 2 boys names but the girls names are proving to be more difficult. Ethan and Callum for 2 boys. I love Catriona (with Cat as a nickname) or Cadence for some girl name choices but my mom hates Catriona and DH hates Cadence. So I'm letting him do some hunting now, I came up with the boys names!


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## Myshelsong

I love Callum. We are talking about that name as well, will see if it lands or not.

We have moved twice in the last ten years, last one two years ago between provinces, so we are so lucky to have already done the purge. Hope you make some good money on the rest of your sale!

Scan went good I think. Little man has a good heartbeat at 138bpm. He is measuring a little smaller, not a full a week so I am trying not to panic. (I got the report to view and looked everything up) his weight is 9oz, which is a little bit light but I know it isn't 100% accurate. My hubs kept joking he was going to have a large head like him, and I am glad to say NORMAL head circumference Hahahaha.

We are telling parents this weekend about the gender. I am so excited, we both started tearing up on the way home. Such a miracle. I am so excited to be here with you ladies, I feel like no one I know understands the complete joy and wonder we are experiencing because no one in my family had to go forward with IVF.


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## rebecca822

Myshel so glad the scan went well. I wouldn't be too worried about him being a week behind, I think that's normal.

Our boys name is Joseph (Joe for short) Joe was my grandpa who I loved very much and passed suddenly 1.5 years ago. He was 76 and passed away in his sleep.
My girls name is Alisa. DHs great grandmother was Ilsa so this is a spinoff of that. She was 100 when she passed away and she was a really special woman. Super talented and artistic and so warm and friendly. I liked her a lot.


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## elliecain

Rebecca, we have chosen family names too: 

Boy: my husband's name followed by his dad's name then a family name from my side (will be known as second name). His dad died just before our wedding.

Girl: my mum's name followed my grandma's middle name then my husband's stepmum's middle name (again, known by second name). DH's stepmum doesn't have any of her own children and has been very ill, so this is really special, as it will be her only grandchild.

Not using the first name as their given name is a family tradition and gives them a bit of choice later on, so I really like it.


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## Rq120

Myshelsong - glad you had a good scan. Mine is Tuesday, can't wait to see them!

As for names, we will put that off until we know the genders. 

I feel someone kicking around in there this am. I'm up early to work at the hospital and it seems like they are most active in the mornings for me.


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## Pinkie3

Thank you for all the advice on choosing names, hopefully we'll find something we love soon. It would probably be helpful if I knew the gender but I really don't want to know. I have a few names on the list that I like but feel like it should be one I love, seeing as I have that feeling about the girls name, then again it was my nans name so has meaning. That's what I need to do, I need to find a boys name with a meaning. 

Myshel, glad to hear everything went well with the scan. Enjoy sharing the gender with your family. I love those special moments. 

RQ, sounds like your garage sales are a success. Certainly a way of making some extra cash. Unfortunately we are the other way around and need to buy. We brought our home 2 years ago and still need a lot of things. 

I've had a really good week with my sickness and eating (although not feeling too great today) managed porridge with fruit and some tuna on my baked potatoes so I am getting there, let's hope it continues. 

X


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## Prayingforno1

Myshelsong-Sounds like your scan went great. We have our next scan on Thursday which I am so anxious about.

I am the only one is is pretty far along and not sure they've felt the baby yet? I am 19 weeks today and I've felt some stuff but not sure if its muscle spasms, things inside stretching or the baby.


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## Pinkie3

Praying, I haven't felt a thing yet. Do you know where your placenta is lying? Mine is at the front which means it could be a while before I feel anything. Even if yours is not at the front it is still quite early, I wouldn't worry. X


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## rebecca822

Praying and pinkie, same with me. Both placentas are anterior which means they cushion the kicking and you can't feel it till later on. 
With my DD I felt butterflies and 17 weeks. This time I feel something going on in there but it's really hard to identify


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## froggyfrog

I think the only reason I feel him so much so often is because the placenta is sitting so low.


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## Fern81

Congrats on a great scan myshel!

Pinkie- happy to hear that you are coping with your meals a bit better. It must be such a relief. Half way done hun :)

I don't feel my son that often; daily but definitely only a few times a day. And like froggy my placenta is tucked out of the way so I'm sure that's why I started feeling him earlier. He is kicking my bladder so it's started to get overstimulated & feels like I have an uti urgh. My diet has also been horrendous the past 2 weeks with parties & party leftovers in the house so I'm sure the excess sugar and junk has been irritating my intestines & bladder. Back to better eating!


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## Rq120

I feel my babies a few times per week. I usually feel them most in the mornings when I'm sitting at my work desk. I can feel them everyday for a day or two and then nothing for several days. I think it depends on where they are hanging out.

I have my anatomy scan tomorrow. DH and I are really looking forward to it. Today is hard to get through at work. Not because I am waiting for tomorrow but because I have no motivation or energy today. 

Last night I had a scare. I was taking a nap on the couch and I woke up choking and coughing. I must have refluxed and then aspirated in my sleep. I was coughing for a good while. I'm feeling ok (and breathing fine) today. I have an OB appt Thursday so I'll have them check me out to make sure there aren't any issues from it.


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## froggyfrog

Fern, Gage loves to kick my bladder too, especially when it full. His kicks poke out of my belly and I love it! 

Well I failed my 1 hour glucose test so tomorrow I have my 3 hour test. Not at all looking forward to having my blood drawn 4 times. I have bad veins and rend to get dizzy and feel faint when they have to dig for them. I had quite a few episodes during ivf where they couldn't find my vein


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## Prayingforno1

I am not sure where my placenta is but will ask the Dr when I go in on Thursday. 

Froggy-I am so sorry you have more testing and sticking ahead of you


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## Pinkie3

Praying, even if your placenta is not anterior, for your first pregnancy it can be as close to 25 Weeks before you feel anything. I think it depends on many things like how baby is lying, how active they are etc so I wouldn't worry but definitely mention it at your next appointment, even just for peace of mind.

RQ, I hope you are feeling better from the choking, sounds a bit scary. 

Froggy, I am sorry the first test didn't go well. Good luck with the blood tests they are really not very nice things to have done.


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## 2have4kids

Praying it was hard for me to feel DD with my first pregnancy. First, you don't really know what to think, it actually feels like gas. But depending on where the placenta sits it can delay things. By 21 weeks it was full on. 

RQ sorry to hear about your scare, hope everything is alright.

Froggy crappy that you failed your first one. 2 hours before your bloodwork start drinking loads and loads of water. Then do some brisk walking or exercise a little before your test and when you check in, use the lavatory and run hot water over your hands, wrists and lower arms (the water is by far the most important step if you can't do any of the rest of them). During your blood test breath deeply and slowly and focus on something on the wall rather than what the tech is doing to keep your heart from beating fast & shallow from stress (constricting your blood vessels). Pump your hand closed and open even if they don't ask. It's a guaranteed method for quick and painless blood tests everytime - promise!

Fern it's nice to have a break from healthy food now and then. I'll be doing 2 birthday parties in the next month so I think I'll join you with the finger foods and yummy alternatives (for a while).

I had the pleasure of little lady shadow me at work today. She brought everyone out of their cubes and put lots of smiles on people's faces this morning <3


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## Pinkie3

Oh I forgot to ask, does anyone else get numb or achy legs in the middle of the night? Every night for the past couple of weeks, I wake up during the night with my hips hurting and a dead leg, i have to move over to the other side to take the weight off and then the same thing happens on that side. I have to lay on my back to get some relief but I am trying to get out of the habit. It's a bit worrying because I only have a small bump and not put any weight on so how it is going to be in another 10 weeks time when I am a lump!!

2have, how funny, she looks a natural! 

X


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## froggyfrog

2have I can't have any water, that's why I'm so nervous about fainting. I'm not aloud anything to eat or drink after midnight, not even water. Your daughter is so cute!!

Pinkie, I don't have the numbness, but my hips do hurt, I'm tossing back and forth all night long cause I wake up with my hips hurting. It makes me want to lay on my back so bad, but that's a no no, so I will roll to my back for a minute and then back to my side


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## Myshelsong

Praying - I haven't felt anything I don't think. I know he is pretty low in my pelvis still but except for lightning crotch I really haven't felt anything. Nor flutters, nothing. Not sure where my placenta is.

I am trying so hard to eat healthy but I don't feel like shopping so today I am almost out of veggies and fruit. Guess I will have to go tomorrow. Yesterday was cake day with my family reveal, so ate more sugar than I normally do. Which sucks, but trying to be better today.

Sorry froggy. I hope you don't have GD, but if you do it will be fine I am sure. My super healthy cousin had GD which was a huge suprise and she had a great pregnancy once she changed her diet.

2have she is super cute! That actually looks like my old desk with broker link when I was in Edmonton. Hahaha memories. Where do you work?

I haven't had dead leg, but my hip knocked out when I was getting my ultrasound done, so I was hobbling for a day until it went back to normal, which was painful!

We did a gender reveal yesterday. Parents are thrilled. We are so excited!


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## 2have4kids

froggyfrog said:


> 2have I can't have any water, that's why I'm so nervous about fainting. I'm not aloud anything to eat or drink after midnight, not even water. Your daughter is so cute!!
> 
> Pinkie, I don't have the numbness, but my hips do hurt, I'm tossing back and forth all night long cause I wake up with my hips hurting. It makes me want to lay on my back so bad, but that's a no no, so I will roll to my back for a minute and then back to my side

I've never ever heard of women not being allowed water. Please ask about this froggy, fasting for surgery may mean no water but a GD test you should def allowed water!


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie I've never had a dead leg, just anxious legs which totally clears up with magnesium (a supplement) and potassium (coconut water).

myshelsong I work at City Hall downtown most days, telework Wednesdays at home. We're switching to Macs next year so my set up should be a little better after I get back from my next mat leave. I like my window view though, I can see the back garden where people do yoga and boot camp at noon. When I'm not there with them I'm either feeling inspired or incredibly lazy:haha:


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## froggyfrog

I asked them thus morning on the phone 2have. She said nothing to eat or drink after midnight, I can only brush my teeth, and I said so no water at all and she said no.


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, sounds like they are doing a fasting blood test I think this provides a more accurate result and easier to interpret. Good luck.


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## Fern81

Oh my gosh froggy. Hope it's all over really fast. And I hope you pass. I agree it's really weird they're not letting you drink water? But you have to follow their instructions though, good luck hun. X

Myshel that's so exciting, what did you do for your gender reveal???

2have - awww she is just too cute for words lol! 

Praying- my arms do that a lot. It means that the blood flow is impaired for some reason. I don't have very good circulation and try to walk & have done dry skin brushing (should start that again, the cellulite is TAKING OVER MY BODY!!) to help along my circulation. I agree it is super irritating. :(


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## froggyfrog

Myshel, I'm glad that your reveal went well!!


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## 2have4kids

Myshel gender reveals are so exciting, glad to hear yours went well. I was co-host to a gender reveal / baby shower yesterday. It was super emotional, loads of family & grandparents were there. The dad-to-be and 3 of his besties had a race put diapers on dolls blindfolded. It was hilarious. 

Froggy yes I guess follow what they say and super hydrate the night before. Sorry to hear they restrict your water too. Hot water on the hands should still work well. gl with your second test!


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## rebecca822

2have that's a great picture, she looks adorable! 

Rq good luck tomorrow!!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Froggie, wow no water sounds rough. I hope you at least have a really early appointment. Do you get the results right away?

Afm- nothing to report. Feeling pretty good.

Ohh actually, what do you ladies think. When I walk I get cramps. I know cramping induces labor. I wonder if it's a problem to walk a half hour. I don't want to go into labor early from walking. I'll ask my doctor at my next appointment.


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## Fern81

Rq- hope you have an amazing scan today and that you had a better night's sleep. Well, come to think of it you probably are still sleeping ;). Hope your dr can give you some sound advice about the choking (sounds awful). Maybe sleep propped up? Oh and will you confirm the genders today? :)


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## Fern81

Rebecca it feels like my second trimester is one big painful Braxton hicks. After that day fighting with dh (when I got them every 5 minutes), I have started getting them many times a day. Anything can trigger it eg touching my tummy, bending or stretching, having a full bladder etc. My dr said it's normal.... but ok of course I don't know if your cramping is Braxton hicks too? Does your uterus go rock hard when it happens? And does the cramp/contraction only last for about 30 seconds at a time? I would be interested to hear. But yeah definitely ask your dr about it ASAP.


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## elliecain

Froggy, sorry you have to have a second test and have to fast. I hope it goes well.

It sounds like a few of you have sore legs and hips. I guess I have that to look forward to...! I feel like such a newbie, stuck 6 weeks behind you all. I'm not even 14 weeks yet, so I feel like I should be reading 6 weeks back on this thread! I'm still getting exhausted episodes, but no sickness at all now, despite being off the prednisolone. Most of the time, I can forget I'm even pregnant, except for my bloated tummy! I can feel my uterus quite a way above my pubic bone, but it's covered by a layer of fat and bloat right now... Can't wait until I have a proper bump!


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## Fern81

Thinking of you Froggy, hope you survived/are surviving! X


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## froggyfrog

I survived! Just got home and about to have some lunch and have been chugging my water. Only one arm was cooperating so all four blood draws came from the same arm, but its over!


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## rebecca822

Fern- no they're not Braxton hicks just cramping. I think Braxton hicks would make me mad. I would run the the hospital thinking I was in labor.

Froggy glad you made it!

Rq- stalking waiting for your post!!


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, well done on the blood test let's hope you get a good result, fingers crossed. 

Myshel, glad to hear the gender reveal went well and everyone was over the moon. 

Ellie, you are not too far behind and at least we can sympathise with all your symptoms and give you any tips. It's good that you are not feeling sick and things are going well. 

RQ, good luck at your scan. 

Rebecca I've had a little cramping when walking, its like a sharp stabbing pain low down but it doesn't worry me, I am sure there is a lot going on it there. 

I slept with my pillow between my legs last night and it helped a little. I think I am going to invest in a pregnancy pillow and see if that helps with the aches. I was also suppose to be joining an Aquafit class tomorrow, hoping exercise will help but I can't get into my swimming costume. My bump and boobs are bigger than I think they are. I've ordered a maternity costume online so hopefully I can start next week. DH just made a boo boo... I asked him to pick me up some chips (I am having a fussy day and not had any for a week so don't feel too guilty) anyway he comes back and says "I have got you something special" there is me all excited when he presents 'battered chips' WTF!! I almost cried. I am a pregnant women who is struggling to eat and you must buy me what I ask, not something with extra sprinkles and dust but exactly want I tell you, I could not eat them. Bless him, he was trying to be thoughtful and it backfired. Toast for dinner tonight. X


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## Myshelsong

Glad you survived froggy! Hope the test went well Hun.

Hey Ellie, you will catch up for sure! For me 14 weeks I was still freaking out I didn't have many symptoms so I bought a Doppler just to calm my nerves. (Best decision ever btw) I Only nausea had in the evenings, some hunger and being tired in the afternoon. So .... Now lol! Except nausea is now heartburn at bedtime. 

20 weeks today! My count for baby is officially a count down now. I am so happy, I just hope I can keep up the momentum. I feel like I can't concentrate on anything! All I want to do I search baby stuff online and read threw my five pregnancy apps. Oh man it is crazy.


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## rebecca822

Pinkie- I bought a pregnancy pillow but I'm finding it hard to sleep with it so for now I haven't used it.
I know exactly what you mean about the chips!! My DH would have done the same thing! They try so hard. 

Congrats on 20 weeks myshel! Huge milestone!!

Rq I'm anxiously awaiting your post!! Hope everything is ok!


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## Myshelsong

Pinkie - I hate my pregnancy pillow and it was sssooooo expensive. We got the snuggle and it is just way too full for me to use, it is like having three pillows pilled between my legs and gives me neck cramps. However I am thinking about removing 1/2 the stuffing just to make it usable, or removing the head portion of it right off so i can use it like a J body pillow. 
I would get a body pillow first and see if you like that. they are 1/4 of the cost. right now I am a three pillow person, one between my legs, one I hug and one for my head. 
I laughed when I read the battered chips part! Oh my gosh I feel the same way. The only difference is I would have asked him to turn around and get me regular chips, while i angrily munch on the battered ones. That sucks, hope your toast turned out nice. 

I mentioned to hubs today we were 1/2 way there and we decided we are doing dinner out tonight as a date night to celebrate! I am actually really happy, this is going to be nice.


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## rebecca822

Myshel- enjoy your night out with hubby. I made stuffed chicken tonight. It looks good but I'm sure I'm not going to eat it. It will gross me out!


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## froggyfrog

Have fun at dinner myshel! Halfway really feels like an accomplishment! 

Pinkie, I have a snoogle, and I really like mine. At first it was a lot of pillow but now I couldn't sleep without it. I had to incorporate another smaller pillow to hold for when I turn over and use the snoogle as a back support


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## Rq120

All is good. I have just had a busy day. I wanted to let you know the babies are good and I'll report more tomorrow (so you didn't worry!)


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## rebecca822

Rq120 said:


> All is good. I have just had a busy day. I wanted to let you know the babies are good and I'll report more tomorrow (so you didn't worry!)

Thanks RQ I was getting worried!
Anxiously awaiting your post tomorrow ;)


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## elliecain

Myshel, happy halfway! Date night sounds great, have a lovely time. 
I bought a doppler about a month ago and I've been able to hear the hb from about 10 weeks. I listen to it every few days, when I worry that I have no symptoms. It's saved me money in the long run, as I'd probably have paid for at least 2 more scans otherwise! I've got another 6 weeks until my NHS anatomy scan, but I might have a gender scan in 2 weeks, as I've found a good deal for one in Wales. But then, we haven't decided that we will find out yet!

I've managed to coerce my DH into coming with me to see Bridget Jones's Baby on Friday and I can't wait! I think we will also have a meal out afterwards :) We so rarely go out and I'm so excited to see this film.

I was thinking of getting a pregnancy pillow I've seen on Grupon. It's good value, so I think I'll give it a go. I'm not at the point where I need it yet though...


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## Fern81

Happy halfway mark myshel! If you don't mind sharing, what did you do for your gender reveal? 

Glad all is good rq :) do you have pics? 

I have a huge full body banana shaped pregnancy pillow from my sister and it's just too big for me. Way too high to support my bump and it spreads my knees too far apart lol. I will try it again in a few weeks. Atm I'm also just a 3 pillow gal.

Aaahh ellie enjoy the movie! I love bridget jones! I don't want to see the movie atm now because I currently have a Grey's anatomy obsession and it's going to be too weird to see dr derek sheppard in a different role. I'm just crazy I know :). 

We're starting quite a large renovation project tomorrow. Half our floors will be dug up and replaced. It should take about a month to complete. We're going to have to move half our furniture *somewhere* and live in half the house for a month surrounded by tarps and dust. Needless to say I'm feeling totally overwhelmed by it and keep bursting into silly tears. Hormones...!


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## Prayingforno1

Hello everyone. So far no pregnancy pillows for me :)

Fern I feel sorry for you already with your renovations lol. We had a small project a few weeks back that had our kitchen covered and unusable for a few days and it drove me totally crazy. There was dust everywhere and the workers were just taking their time. It got to the point that if they'd stayed one more day I may have snapped. I hope the floors you are working on are in areas that won't totally obstruct your usual routine and I also hope the company you have working on your home don't keep changing their completion date (like ours did). I'll be praying for you sanity :)


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## Rq120

Drumroll please..........

We are having a boy and a girl!!!! 

So much fun! The anatomy scan went great yesterday. Babies cooperated and it went very smoothly. Doc said everything looked great with both babies. The boy is 11 oz and the girl is 10 oz. They are in there stacked like bunk beds with the boy on the bottom. Yesterday both heads were on the right side and they were pretty curled up. It was exciting to find out we are having one of each gender. They both have anterior placentas so I'm thankful I have been able to feel both for a few weeks. 

I saw a specialist for the anatomy scan. It is normal for my OB to refer twin moms. The specialist said I'm doing great and not high risk so I don't need to see them again unless something comes up later. They also measured my cervix and it is doing great and showing no signs of risk of pre-term labor. 

Pinkie - I think I had some hip pain around that time, but it was short-lived and resolved on it's own after a few days or a week. I alternate between a normal body pillow and a snoogle knock-off I got from Amazon. They make me pretty comfortable between the two. I hope you can find some relief. It's hard to compare preganancies because some women can get severe body pain and not others. I remember a good friend having back pain for almost her ENTIRE pregnancy, but I'm carrying twins and I feel great most days. 

Fern - best of luck on your home project!

Ellie - enjoy your date night. That sounds like a lovely time.


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## rebecca822

Congrats Rq!!!! We're exactly the same! 

Fern good luck on the renovations. Living at home through renovations is really tough!
We had a bit of a situation that is stressing me out. Basically our cooktop broke so the company came out to repair it. They said the cooktop was not installed in the counter properly and may break the counter if it's removed. Well what do you know, now my granite counter top is cracked! I really do not want to spend the money to replace it and they can't fix the cooktop until the counter too is fixed. Ughhhh so stressed out about this!!


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## froggyfrog

Congrats rq!!! That's so exciting! !! 

Fern sorry about the reno, I hope they get done fast!

Rebecca that really sucks! Granite isn't cheap either!

I heard back today, and I have GD. Really stinks, but it is what it is. I have to go take a class and get my supplies, and hopefully can control it with diet.


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## Fern81

Congrats RQ! Woohoo that's just so exciting!! I've edited your front page storks accordingly :). 

Froggy- I'm so sorry to hear about the complication. You will be fine hun; I know you can do this!

Rebecca- what a pain. Reno work always ends up being more than anticipated :(. And so expensive! Hope you find a solution.

Thanks Praying! Believe me I'm going to be crying and complaining about it on here lol but unfortunately it has to be done. There is a hole in the living room floor and sooo many floors need to be redone (messed up by the previous owners) that we decided to get the worst ones done before baby comes. Uhhh I know you can empathize! :)


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## Prayingforno1

Aww-Congrats RQ, boy and girl twins yey!!

froggy- So sorry to hear about your GD. Are you meeting with a nutritionist? My coworker had to follow a nutritionist&#8217;s guide throughout her pregnancy and said for the most part it wasn&#8217;t bad. I hope you have a similar experience.

Rebecca-Gee you started with 1 home repair and now you have 2 sigh. Hope you can find someone who can fix everything for you without breaking the bank

Fern-Yes best to get that out the way before you have your newborn but still doesn&#8217;t make it any easier lol. I really hope your renos go smoothly and I will be on the look-out for your progress updates

2Have4kids-Haven't seen you around here for a bit. How are you?

AFM-Doctor visit tomorrow!! I am so excited and nervous. Hope all is well with our little bean as we haven&#8217;t seem him/her in what feels like ages. If I&#8217;m not mistaken our anatomy scan is tomorrow (I think that&#8217;s what they said at my last visit) and hopefully they will also be able to determine the sex as well. I hope I can get some sleep tonight, so anxious lol


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## froggyfrog

Praying, I have to take a class and will need to follow up with the mfm, but I'm already under the care of the mfm because of my placenta anyway so that's not a big deal. I'll get my meter at my class and have to log my blood sugar every time I take it. It won't be horrible, but just sad when I want something bad. Nothing like having a craving you can't eat :(

Will be stalking tomorrow for your update!!


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## rebecca822

Praying can't wait for your update tomorrow.

Froggie sorry about the GD. Will you need to take insulin shots and all of that?

So if we end up needing to replace the granite we'll probably file a homeowners claim. New granite and installation labor, plus new backsplash (since we're removing the counters the backsplash will get rubies) it will definitely add up so we'll see if they can possibly fix the crack.


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## froggyfrog

My Dr said she would like for me to try to control it with diet. So hopefully a change in what I eat will be sufficient enough to keep everything in check. If for some reason diet doesn't work, then I will take something to help my body out. I'm glad they aren't so quick to put me on med and let me try to balance it out myself. I feel confident that I can do it. I have already done a lot of research on the diet and I started it on friday.


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## Pinkie3

RQ, congratulations on the gender scan, how exciting. 

Fern, I hope the renovations go well, there never seems to be a good time but it will be worth it. 

Froggy, so sorry it come back confirming GD, sounds like they are looking after you and let's hope with a special diet it puts you back on track. 

Praying, best of luck tomorrow, enjoy seeing your LO on screen.

Ellie, enjoy Bridget Jones, I have convinced DH to come with me next week.

Thanks for all the advice on pregnancy pillows. I done a bit of reading about how to help me sleep better and it seems to be working, I am just using a normal pillow at the moment so will stick with that until otherwise needed x


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## Myshelsong

RQ- congratulations, I am so excited for you. They are great sizes I am so happy :happydance:

Fern that is a huge Reno project! Good luck on the Reno. 

Good luck praying! Hope you have a great anatomy scan tomorrow
Froggy- Sorry about the GD. I hope this class makes it simple for you.

Rebecca- how annoying! Can they fill the crack or does it have to be completely redone?

Our gender reveal was just with my parents and siblings. I made a cake with blue in the inside so it was cute when we cut the cake everyone was like "BLUE!!!" So funny.
Feeling good of here, but dreading the next month. We had a small water damage from the roof last spring that has cause some mould in our bathroom. So we are hiring someone to come in to repair the ice daming, redo the fan stack and then going to have to replace the ceiling in our master bath.... Ugh. I wanted this done months ago but hubby really procrastinated on calling someone and honestly wouldn't let me make the appointment.


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## rebecca822

Myshelsong- were waiting for the granite guy to come over and tell us if it is repairable. I'll post a picture but basically the piece is being held on by duck tape!


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## 2have4kids

Oh Fern & Rebecca sorry to hear about the renos. BUT better now so that you can focus on your LO's when they come. We did hardwood floors (had to hire movers to take our stuff outside in the middle of winter to a POD), a complete bathroom overhaul, installed a full 8 ft kitchen island with full granite waterfall and appliances/drawers underneath (talk about stress, we had to figure out how to support the weight of granite and hired a carpenter to build a frame). Baseboards, hot tub retiled, along with pot lighting all done in month 3-4 after I delivered our wee cherub. It was hard but we put noise cancelling headphones on her when the airgun was putting nails in baseboards, when the jackhammer was demolishing 2 tones of tile in our bathroom. She slept through it all. What's worse is I was nursing at the time. So I pumped before the workmen got to the house and after they left and bf in her bedroom. It was crazy! Talk about stress. Do it now ladies! 

RQ and Rebecca, I hope I can follow in both of your footsteps with a b/g combo! Wouldn't that be statistically amazing. It just almost never happens like that. But most importantly I'm glad to hear the babies are doing well. 

I've have my doppler sitting on the bathroom counter since I dug it up a few weeks ago and just never time to use it! We did DD's first swim lesson yesterday. Oh man that water is cold. I wore a thickly padded bra under my wetsuit-like swimsuit. DD had a sleeved wetsuit-like swimsuit too. The kids were freezing! I'm glad I didn't go for the cutsy little skimpy swimsuits they sell in most stores. I used to instruct at the pool in our community and I remember how cold it was. Anyway she fell asleep during dinner right afterwards. That's a first too. She's a terrible sleeper like me, I think she feels she'll miss out on the party. I need to take her swimming more often in the evenings!:haha:


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## Prayingforno1

Hello ladies just back from my scan and we are team pink!! Our baby girl gave us a good view and doctor said he is 95% sure. Everything else was normal. Yey!! so excited to know the gender lol


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## froggyfrog

Congrats praying!!! The first singleton girl! !


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## Rq120

Great news Praying. Congrats.

2Have - I hope you get the genders you want. Are you team green, I can't remember?


I love feeling the babies. My boy loves to be active in the morning. Also, my constipation has resolved for about a month and a half now and I am so happy!!!

We have some home projects coming up too, but thankfully they are minor. We are hiring someone to paint our downstairs ceiling after some water staining from a leak. Should take one day and DH will take care of everything. We are currently working on getting someone to fix an area of our roof. The hard part is waiting to see if the insurance will pay for any of it due to hail damage. We are trying to get everything in order to sell our house next spring. Fun stuff!!


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## Fern81

Yay great news Praying! Congrats hun :) now for all the pink & frills!! Glad to hear everything else is OK too :)

Myshel that sounds like so much fun. The surprise on their faces must have been priceless.

What is WRONG with all of us doing renos?? Lol. The builder started the day off by being 1,5 hours late (I had to start teaching IMMEDIATELY after he arrived!). Then didn't move the furniture to the correct rooms. And they left without cleaning ANYTHING; including leaving the stairs to my bedroom full of cement. Wth??? I'm hating this SO MUCH. I'm never moving into a house that needs this much repairing, ever again. Clearly I'm off now to start cleaning cement and dust :(.


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## 2have4kids

Fern that's awful! My bathroom tiler guy took out SO much tile, concrete, brick (yes this was apparently under the bathroom shower seat) and mesh in the wall (the old shower had really thick walls). He put up plastic sheets to protect our bedroom, turned on the fan and cleaned the floor at the end of the day. We were so impressed. He came as a referral from the baseboard guy who came at the referral from the hardwood guy. They were all Polish and really great. We got lucky, there are so many horror stories out there! I'm sorry you are dealing with this. Maybe you can lay down some laws for them in a note tomorrow if they decide to come late again? :grr: I'd be pissed too!

Praying congratulations on team pink! YEAY, girls are so much fun to dress up. At first I wanted a boy but now that I have a girl I was SO thankful. I would like one of each with the twins but I'd be happy with whatever we get. Yes RQ, we're team yellow all the way!

Well we're just planning DD's first birthday. There are so many great ideas out there. For the baby & birth group party we decided to do a small ball pit. DD absolutely loved it when we went to the baby shower. She sat in this tiny ball pit with 3 other kids that were her age and played for what seemed like hours. For a 1 year old that's pretty amazing. They bore quickly! I've found a small little house on kijiji used for $20 that I think we'll get instead of a blow up pit. The pits often deflate and the balls went everywhere lol. This might contain them better. And it's got a tube coming off it that might be fun for them to crawl through. Wish I was a kid again, we had nothing like this stuff! The best part about the little house is it's like a tent and folds up into nothing. I hate stuff that takes up space. I like my house to be clean and airy and that's tough to do with kids.


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## Prayingforno1

I didn't have a preference and would have been happy with either boy or girl but just knowing makes it all seem so much more real to me. DH was hoping for a boy but was also happy either way. OMG after all this time ttc I am nearly 5 months pregnant!! Who would've thought it!


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## froggyfrog

I'm sorry about the unprofessional workers fern, that really sounds like a nightmare. I would definitely mention something. 

Have fun planning the party 2have! It sounds like so much fun!

Praying, it really is going by so fast so far. I told dh yesterday that we only have 19 weeks left, and he was saying how fast it's going. I'm sure when I can't breathe or sleep it will start to slow down lol. 

I'm really thankful to have pinterest. I have found so many yummy recipes that are GD friendly. I feel like I won't even miss out on sweets because there are healthy options that will satisfy a sweet tooth. I'm going to try my hand at some pumpkin waffles this weekend!!!


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## 2have4kids

YUM! Pumpkin waffles sound amazing. We have a diabetic depot here where you can get all sorts of sugar free treats. Many products like the maple syrup have sucralose in them but I think if it's in a tiny amount I'm not so fussed about it. I use stevia if I need to sweeten things in baking or cooking or apple sauce.


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## rebecca822

Congrats praying on your little girlie!!

I'll always have a special place in my heart for my DD she's the little girl who made me a mom. I think girls are awesome :)


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## Fern81

2have - that sounds like so much fun!! I agree, wish we could be kids again. I just cheched your ticker and am with you all that I couldn't believe how time flies (I'm constantly surprised by it!) Just the other day I saw you had a 9 month old baby. And here we all are in 2nd tri and your & Rebecca's girls are having birthdays.... crazy. Tomorrow we're going to complain about difficult teenagers lol.

Ugh no I'm not allowed to say anything to the builder because another MAJOR upset has happened (he changed his price and increased it a lot) all because I enquired about items on the quote that we are NOT having done. So the guy sent my husband an updated quote; he had removed the items that I had specified but added in a sh*tload of other nonsense and now it's much more expensive! And he is dh's "friend" so of course it's all my fault. I have been screamed at for the past 3 hours and told what a horrible human being I am, all because I tried to save some money. Yep, we're back to the emotional abuse. I don't dare say something about a wooden staircase full of slippery cement :( who gives a damn if the pregnant idiot falls. And I hit my stomach really hard today while picking up & moving furniture by myself (dh had another fit because I asked him to help me move furniture while he was "tired"). He doesn't even know I got injured. Last night he said he is sick of me telling him I'm tired or any other pregnancy symptom so I have to keep it to myself. This time I'm seriously considering moving out. Only thing is I had to pay him such a lot of money tonight to try and fix the damage I had done. .. and I have to pay for every cent of this pregnancy out of my own pocket he pays nothing. ... so I can't afford to move out. 

Sorry. Had to get it off my chest.


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## 2have4kids

Fern, that's terrible. I wouldn't be giving that man a red cent and making him pay for the emotional abuse. That's costly on you and you need to start charging for it. Or for every time you're doing work while he's sitting around charge him for your time. We ladies often end up doing the brunt of the work and take on waaaay too much. My mom told me to stop trying to help DH out, he asks and asks and I just say yes all the time because that's who I am. Make him tap his resources. If you can't afford to move out maybe a b&b for a few nights and let him deal with the clean up and moving? Do you teach at your home? Sorry you have to deal with this.


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## Myshelsong

Holy Fern, my heart goes out to you and your situation. It is like no matter what you do you are in the wrong, and that really isn't fair at all. I really don't know what I would do in your situation except try to keep my baby safe. I can't believe after all you two have been through, having to move on to IVF that he treats you so badly. Big hugs darlin.

Praying - congrats on the little girly!!!

Sorry reading quickly and have to leave for a paint party. Hope you are all doing well.


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## rebecca822

Fern, that's awful sorry to hear!! Can't stand contractors and their BS


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## Fern81

20weeks today and I haven't felt my son move once :( yep I need to get away from this toxic and stressful environment before more harm is done to my baby. Going to my parents tonight (just told them it's due to too much dust at home with the renovations; also true) but have to come back on Monday as my classroom is here on the property.


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## Prayingforno1

Fern-I am so sorry you have to go through this especially right now with your pregnancy. Sigh these husbands. Just make sure you do not push yourself too much and try to stay as relaxed as you can given the circumstances. I just can&#8217;t understand what he can possibly be thinking to be so mean towards you. Enjoy your weekend by your parents and I hope it gives you some time to escape all of the madness. :hugs: honey

Now the contractor being shady is a whole different topic. The team we had working on our house did the same thing by changing the price. We had to go through this before and it was so disappointing. Sometimes it&#8217;s best to hire strangers than working with friends-we learned this the hard way!

Myshelsong-How was the paint party? They are normally so much fun once you go with the right people!


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## rebecca822

Happy 20 weeks fern! Halfway there!
I'm 19 weeks now and I don't feel babies either.
I hope the break from the chaos is just what you need. Enjoy your time at your parents.
The granite guy finally got back to us and told us that he can glue the cracks! Yay, what a relief!


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## Fern81

Thanks ladies. I'm looking forward to staying at my parents so much. Will not be talking to husband and I think it will do baby and me a world of good to be looked after for a change! My mom already sent me a menu for tonight.... sigh... bliss. I'm starting to understand why my sister stays there almost every weekend! (She won't be there this weekend but her daughter is staying there. Yay for niece cuddles!).

4pm and I'm finally feeling some kicks, phew. I had started to think something was wrong after yesterday's accident (as I've said the builder was 1,5 hours late; I was starting to stress & husband had refused to help me move stuff the previous night. So I started moving some furniture in a hurry. I had picked up an ottoman and was holding it tummy-height, walking quite fast to move it to another room when a cupboard door blew open and I walked into it at full force; the ottoman slammed into my tummy so hard it took my breath away. Not a clever move!). Glad he's kicking again.

Praying- geez shady business people... and this one is so rich. Honestly I'd rather be poor than get rich from other people's misery! Are you having more renos done soon?

Rebecca that's great news! 

Do you all enjoy waking up and thinking of your little boy/girl now that you know the gender? Respect for the team yellow ladies!! I'd never be able to wait but I imagine the surprise is so much bigger :).


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## Rq120

Fern - so sorry about your home situation. I hope you can improve your situation.

Yes, I do love knowing who is in my belly and who is kicking (him or her).

I'm heading to Florida for vacation tomorrow morning. I prob won't be on here as much. We are staying for a week and I'm looking forward to lots of relaxing, family visits, and beach time!


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## froggyfrog

Oh fern, I hope you can take this weekend to relax and get pampered. You and baby boy deserve it! That's absolutely horrible how your husband spoke to you and treated you. I don't want to cause more stress by asking this, but you don't think he will try to bully your LO the same way do you? 

RQ have a good vacation! 

DH is having surgery on Monday on his hip. He has a labral tear and also his hip bone has grown to not fit into the socket so they are going to shave some off. Poor thing has delt with horrible pain for years now and just finally got a diagnosis. He is unable to have an MRI because before we started our IUIs, he had a varicocelle repair which means he has metal coils in his abdomen. I really wish there was some way to take them out because they didn't even help his count AT ALL, and they just cause inconvenience. Since he wasn't able to have an MRI it took several different Dr's to finally get his diagnosis. Anyway, here we are, only a few days away from his surgery which should fix his problems completely! It's a 3 hour surgery and he will be off for 3 weeks. Money will be tight since he is our only income, but it will definitely be worth it!


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## Myshelsong

Glad you are going to your parents Fern. Have a relaxing time.

RQ have a great vacation!

Froggy ah surgery. Hope he recovers quickly and feels better now that this is getting fixed.

Rebecca so glad they can glue it. Hopefully this will be just the fix for you guys and the stove top goes in nicely.

I still haven't really felt the little guy move at all. But I had a crazy scare yesterday. Was having weird sharp pains here and there and feeling off all day. Got the Doppler out and for almost 20 minute couldn't find the heart beat. We finally found a really faint sound, he must be hiding behind the placenta or on my back because it was steady but super faint. It was crazy felt so upset all night. Woke up this morning and tried again, and found him. Although again quiet but steady. Going to take a break for a bit so I don't scare myself.

Paint parties are so much fun. I am leading the groups this week one today and one tomorrow. Then I have a photo session on Sunday so super busy weekend. Spending the day cleaning up from the mess of the week I haven't been able to do anything lately. Feeling so out of it lol.


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## Rq120

Froggy - best of luck to your hubby. I hope the surgery helps his pain


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## Prayingforno1

Fern-We have a few more things to be done in addition to finding someone to fix the work the last workers did sigh. 

froggyfrog-I hope hubby finally gets the relief he needs with the surgery

Myshelsong-I have not felt baby kick although I've had a lot of twinges. During my scan yesterday baby girl was moving and kicking away. The Dr even asked if I wasn't feeling it and I said no. He said probably within a week then.


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## rebecca822

Froggy good luck with DHs surgery. A year and a half ago my DH had a very long surgery on his bowels due to his severe crohns. It was really tough and a long recovery but thankfully he's doing well since. I hope surgery will help your DHs hip and he'll be back on his feet soon!


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## Fern81

Rq I hope you have a wonderful vacation and lovely weather & some beach time. Enjoy! 

Froggy- all the best for your hubby's surgery. I can just imagine what a relief it will be for him after the repair is done. Lucky him to have you to look after him :) hope you both cope well with the next 3 weeks. X

Praying - to fix....!!?? What a frustration. Hope you feel her soon, it's the best. To me it feels like a fish swimming in there & bumping me!

Myshel- do you have an anterior placenta? Sorry about your scare hun. I've been having such aches & pains recently and one sharp pain on the right had me especially worried. I was surprised to learn from dr Google what we can experience in 2nd tri. .. expanding rib cage, rotating uterus that can compress the right ureter, bladder nerve overstimulation & spasms from baby's movement, continued ligament pain/spasms, of course braxton hicks, compression of everything else...!! I really hope your pains were just a normal side effect of pregnancy. X


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## elliecain

Froggy, I hope your husband's surgery goes well. I'm glad he can get it sorted now, so hopefully he'll be fit and able to help you when your baby arrives.

Myshel, that's really scary, you poor thing. Dopplers are equally amazing and horrible, in my opinion. When I first started using it, it took so long to find the hb and it made me cry with relief every time I got it (up to 40 minutes later). Now, I usually find it within a few seconds, but I'm worried that it will take longer again one time and I'll be so panicked. It is reassuring to hear it though, as I'm a way off feeling movement yet. My next midwife appointment is in 12 days and I think she may finally actually listen to my baby. So far, it's just been filling in forms and our scans don't give you any sound. Without my own doppler, I'd have gone mad and spent a fortune on private scans!!!

Fern, your husband sounds like a childish fool. I'm sure you have plenty of good times and I know this is your place to vent, so we probably get a slightly skewed account, but he honestly needs to grow up if he's ever going to be a proper father. My DH has times of being quite inconsiderate, but he's starting to make changes. He was a batchelor for so long that he still needs to learn how to take another person's needs into account at times (ie I like to live in a tidy and clean home, whereas he doesn't mind dirt and disorder, therefore I have to clean and tidy all his crap... Though I've worked out that he'll do chores if I give him a manageable list!).
I do hope that a bit of a break helps your relationship and maybe time apart makes him realise what he's done... You don't need this right now though.

So, I'm officially into the second tri and excited to start seeing my bump develop properly. My organs have had to shift so the bloat is starting to look a bit more bump-like and my uterus is coming out of my pelvis nicely. I got my appointment for the anatomy scan yesterday and it's on October 25th. I can't wait to see Bee, but still don't know if we will find out the gender... Might ask them to put it in an envelope so we can decide at a later date...


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## froggyfrog

Myshel, I brought up the really intense sharp pains to my Dr and she confirmed what I thought, round ligament pain. Some of the are horrible, they take me breath away and have me double over. Maybe your little boy was just sleeping from a growth spurt and just found a cozy spot to stay in.


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## froggyfrog

Welcome to 2nd tri ellie!

Thanks for the well wishes ladies! I'm excited at the thought that he will be able to get up and down off the floor to play with his son! He still has yet to feel him kick because Gage is a stinker and stops as soon as daddy puts his hand on my belly, but last night we sat and stared at my bump, and he finally saw a kick. They are so strong now that my belly moves! Oh and Gage's favorite toy is my bladder! Apparently it's a soccer ball when it's full!


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## Myshelsong

Glad I am not the only one with scary sharp pains here and there.
I am still to terrified to try the Doppler again, but I hope that the little guy is going well. Next ultrasound is with our OB next Friday so I am going to try to keep my hopes up until then. I have no idea if I have an anterior placenta. I know I have extra chub, so hoping that is another reason for lack of movement. 

Ellie! Yay second trimester. It is amazing how time is flying, and standing still at the same time.


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## rebecca822

Congrats on second tri Ellie!

I'm sure the reason I don't feel movement is because of anterior placenta.i felt DD at 17 weeks.
My anatomy scan is September 27 I really can't wait!
I'm having brunch in the morning with some lady friends while DH watches DD. I'm looking forward i think it will be nice!
Oh, I was in target yesterday and I bought myself a huge bag of mixed chocolate! Yum yum! I hid it from DD (she has my chocolate loving genes).


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## Fern81

Quick post - I'm in hospital for reduced fetal movement. Other than that still staying with my parents. Update later.


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## rebecca822

Fern I hope everything is ok. Good luck


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## Prayingforno1

Hi Fern, I hope you are doing well and everything is okay.


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, Fern! Please update soon we're all very worried about you & baby. xx


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## froggyfrog

Hope everything is OK fern, let us know!


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## Fern81

Hi there. All is ok with baby. I phoned dr this morning after almost no movement for 3 days; they had me counting kicks and then go into labour ward from which I was referred back to dr for an ultrasound. She did an unscheduled anatomy scan to check if all is well. By the grace of God he had suddenly produced a huge amount of amniotic fluid, which must have happened right around the time I got hit in the stomach (because that's when I couldn't feel him anymore), and it protected him & placenta from any damage. It also stopped me from feeling his movements for 3 days so far. She did put me on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds (very low dose & pregnancy safe) because I was so upset & crying about baby & my husband and worried I'm a bad mother for exposing my child to all the stress... and she said I need to take it easier. 

Thanks for all the love and good wishes you all showered on me! Will read through all the posts tonight after work
Xx


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## Prayingforno1

Awesome news Fern-hearing all is well with baby and they were able to give you something to make you feel more relaxed. I know you are back to work today but are you able to take some time for yourself this afternoon? Maybe just even going to a local coffee shop to have tea and a pastry to clear your mind a bit. Praying this phase soon passes for you :hugs:


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## 2have4kids

Oh thank goodness. I wish those of us with man troubles could have a huge group hug. It really does help to have such supportive women around, I find the stress my DH gives me while I'm pregnant is constant and so unnecessary. We are going to counselling though which is great but even simple conversations turn into bicker-fests. I asked him to stop it, just stop it last night after asking him to turn on the baby's monitor when he puts her to bed. OMG did we really need to have an hour discussion over that? Re-fking-tarded.


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## Myshelsong

Fern - Glad baby is well.

I am kinda freaking out. So i still have not felt baby, the last few times we tried the doppler it was super hard to find the heartbeat and it was really quiet although regular. and today I cant find it at all. I am seriously freaking myself out and I dont know what to do. I never go to the doctors unless absolutely necessary so I feel super weird about heading out the door. but on the other hand I feel like I am going to have a panic attack. I can hear the placenta like over the entire right hand side of my abdomen really loudly, but no fetal hb. I am not sure if i am just being crazy or if something is actually wrong. :cry: I feel like I am going nuts.


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## froggyfrog

Myshel, I would call just to get some reassurance. I'm not one to run to the Dr unless it's an emergency either, but there definitely is nothing wrong getting everything checked out anytime you worry while pregnant. 

Fern glad everything turned out to be ok. I hope you can relax.


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## Fern81

Myshel- definitely call. I waited 4 days (injury on Thursday, then 3 days with barely any movement) before calling because I also don't see doctors unless I'm convinced it's really serious (the last time, before today, that I went to ER was in March 2013 for gall stones & kidney stones!). My dr said today that next time I should phone as soon as I'm worried and not wait.
Please call or drive to your dr ASAP. They should have a protocol in place for whatever your concern. Thinking of you!!!! Hope everything is OK. X

Thanks again everyone. It's such a relief that we can all just unload and worry and vent etc on here. I can't say all this stuff to people irl. And no-one understands like you all do. Praying- I had to work until 19:30 but had a nice lindt choc after work as per your suggestion :).
 
Beemeck- thinking of you today, did you have your operation already? Sorry hun I couldn't remember the date but feel like it should be sometime now?


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## Fern81

Myshel- thinking of you. Hope everything is OK. XX


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## rebecca822

Myshel- any update on baby?


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## Prayingforno1

Myshel-any update?

I haven't really felt much movement myself but the baby is surely moving around which I saw on the scan and Dr wasn't alarmed but said I should start feeling here within a week. I have been feeling some weird movements in my tummy the past few days that I am thinking must be our baby girl. I can't really describe it but it sort of feels like air bubbles moving around ( I hope it's her lol)


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies, sorry I have been awol. I had family up for a long weekend and it's been manic. Today I am trying to get the house back in order and do some relaxing!

Looks like I have a lot to catch up on.

Fern, I am so pleased everything was ok with baby, sounds like a scary time, look after yourself.

Myshel, I am sorry the Doppler is causing you stress and worry, make sure you go get it checked out, never feel like a burden when it comes to your LO. I have no doubt that everything is ok and will be stalking for your update. 

Froggy, I hope DH surgery goes well. 

Ellie, congratulations on getting to your second trimester.

Sorry if I have missed anyone, I hope you and bumps are all doing well. 

I had my anatomy scan yesterday and pleased that everything looked perfect. We are still team yellow and loving the suspense. My baby looked so cute, I cannot wait to meet him/her now. Also, I think I felt my first flutter the other day (I am 20 weeks now, about time, although placenta is still anterior) it felt like a feather being brushed from the inside and tickled more than anything, I have felt it a few times on my left and that's where the little feet are so I suppose that makes sense. 

X


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## rebecca822

Congrats pinkie on a good anatomy scan! Happy that baby is doing well. I'm so frustrated not to feel my babies yet. Dumb anterior placenta!
I'm really impressed that you're team yellow I can't deal with the suspense. However we did stay team yellow with DD only bec DH insisted on keeping it a surprise.


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## Myshelsong

Hey ladies, I really dont know what to say. My husband convinced me to wait until our Friday appointment since we are getting an ultrasound anyways that day. It is not like I am experiencing any symptoms, no cramping or bleeding ... I just cant find the heartbeat. Which the last two we did find was really close to the placenta and faint, so maybe he is hiding behind it.
I am trying not to panic or freak out, I am just terrified I lost the baby already. We all know how long this process took for all of us, and this is my very first pregnancy ever so I think I am just being really sensitive. 

Pinkie - glad the ultrasound went well! it is so cool seeing the little person on the screen. I cant believe you are team yellow lol. good for you


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## rebecca822

Myshel I'm really sorry I know how hard this is. It's very possible that your LO is hiding. I'm sure waiting till Friday will be hell but DH is right. Can you move up your appointment 1-2 days early instead of the Friday appointment?


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## Fern81

Myshel, I keep thinking about it and while I'm obviously not a Dr, I think as long as you heard a nice fast heartbeat with a steady rhythm then your baby's heart is functioning well & supplying blood to the body. If the sound is faint I think it just means that the home doppler has its limitations and if baby is behind a thick placenta then the doppler only picks up the sound waves faintly. I don't think that the louder the sound, the better the heart functions if that makes sense. And also that a day or so of not finding the hb just means that he is hiding & the little heart is still so small, might just be difficult to find. I'm definitely not trying to say your fears are silly but just trying to make some sense of it all xxx hope your dr sets your mind well at ease on Friday!!

Pinkie- congrats on a great anatomy scan! For both you and Praying; that really does sound like you're feeling your babies move. It's very faint in the beginning! But it does feel like something "different" is going on. :)


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies! Pinkie & praying I'm feeling those bubbles too, it's SO faint but they usually come when I'm lying in bed very still. And when I turn to get water something really squishes with side movements. 

Myshelsong all the best with your scan on Friday. I'm sure everything will be OK. Dopplers are one of the worst sources of stress during pregnancy. And even the midwives always warned me that it's difficult for them to find the heartbeat sometimes before the 24 week mark. During one of my scans with DD the heart was RIGHT behind my bellybutton, you def can't hear it when it's in that position, there's waaaay too much infrastructure in the way in that case.

Fern how is your week going? Are you able to stay calm in the midst of your storm? We've had a relatively good week so far. DD's swim lessons are tonight and I'm NOT looking forward to the cold water. I'm booking future lessons in a different pool, they keep this pool way too cold.

Froggy all the best with DH.

Rebecca, Ellie, ES, Beemeck, Nimbec and anyone else I've missed how are things going?

RQ hopefully Florida has been relaxing and treating you with beautiful weather & good shopping.

DH has booked us ballet tickets for Friday and a babysitter so I'm looking forward to that. The last show we saw was Elton John's life via ballet and it was really fantastic. My 20 week scan is next week too along with another OB check up. The diabetes monitoring is going great, blood sugars are always low and they said they don't need me to come in weekly. I guess at 24 weeks things will ramp up with insulin resistance so they'll have me more closely monitored then. Most people still can't see the bump at work and come at me with shock when I tell them I'm pregnant with twins and almost half way there (time sure flies doesn't it?) I'm assuming the bump will really start forming in the later half of the second tri.


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## Prayingforno1

Myshel-this is why we decided against the doppler because we knew we'd drive ourselves crazy plus just like 2have4 the midwife in our office actually recommended we stay away from them because of the anxiety and stress. I am sure your little bean is right there dancing around as we speak :)

2have-Date night at the ballet sounds nice-do enjoy! Great news on the diabetes front as well. Alot of people at work still don't know I'm pregnant as well when I told one of my coworkes he said oh I thought you were just getting fat in the stomach (wasn't that flattering lol) but it depends what I wear, certain tops show the bump a bit more than others. 

Just a chill day for me, I went to lunch with a good friend and while I was eating I could feel her just moving around in there it felt so weird I had to pause a few times lol. So happy to now be able to feel her :) DH keeps feeling hoping he can feel her movements as well but I told him she's not kicking and moving hard enough just yet for him to feel. I've been having a rough time sleeping at night, literally tossing and turning all night I think it's time I invest in one of those pregnancy pillows some of you ladies speak so fondly about.


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## rebecca822

2have- enjoy the ballet. Sounds lovely!

Praying- I'm sure it's awesome to keep feeling her move. DH will be able to feel her soon too!

We told DD today about the baby (omitted babies) she was behind words excited. She kept hugging my belly telling me she was hugging her brother. She really wants a boy. She will be in for a big surprise when she gets both!!
DH videoed me telling her. It was the sweetest moment!


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## Myshelsong

Rebecca that is adorable. I love her reaction, how sweet that you got it on video.

The ballet sounds like a great date night. Friday can't come fast enough!

Had my morning freak out and now feeling better. Decided going to let fate and faith take it from here and try not to let it consume me too much.mfingers crossed! Thanks so for the support, it really calmed me down over the last few days.


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## Prayingforno1

Awww Rebecca your daughter's reaction is so sweet and it was so good you guys thought of recording it so you can play it for her when she gets older or maybe on the day when that brother she wanted so bad is getting on her nerves :)


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca what a lovely reaction! Something to remember<3<3 I wish my little girl would be old enough to understand but I'm afraid she won't by 14 months. I'm going to buy her a few books on new siblings to help her adjust. You never know what they absorb and I know she's a smart wee lassie so might as well try.

myshelsong glad you're feeling better. When we first had DD we went for walks near a lovely river and my head kept having nightmare scenarios where she falls into the cold water and gets swept away. DH has read on this and it's instinctual that we have all sorts of fears and internal horrors about what *could* happen. It's a survival mechanism that starts with parents even before birth. There would probably be many more deaths if we didn't have this innate sense of fear, it's annoying and upsetting but very necessary!

Has anyone devised a birth plan yet? Thought about the options ie home vs hospital birth, birthing pool, elective section, drug free, etc? Anyone enrolled in birthing classes? 

I was going to do a twin birthing class even though we've done a regular class but I'm kind of on the fence being that it's ~$200. I would LOVE to connect with other parents with twins in the area (that'd be my main reason as I'm fairly confident about our birthing options). But with having to sell my car, buy an SUV, being on reduced maternity leave income for a year (55% of my salary), I think I should be putting the money into the vehicle. I've found an awesome & supportive twin group on fb https://www.facebook.com/groups/twinsandmorechat/ and have already read some amazing tips about the psychology of having twins and the crazy responses (and how to respond appropriately) when people randomly say dumb things about your twins.

I would love to hear what your birth plans are ladies or if you have classes booked -what kind and when they start.


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## rebecca822

2have- no birth plan really. Hoping for twin vbac and I'll do an epidural.
I watched a really good video that I plan to watch again this time (laugh and learn about childbirth with Sherry Baylis) I got it free from the library and it was really informative and I felt fully prepared.

News update!!! I started feeling the babies!! Last night I kept feeling pressure in certain spots and today I feel the same thing. They're diffintely moving around in there. It's about time! Sometimes it feels like bubbles and sometime I can swear it's little kicks. I'm loving it! Go babies go!! 
Right now it's definitely Jospeh doing the kicking as it's more towards the bottom left.


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## Pinkie3

Myshel, I am glad you are feeling better. My advice, step away from the Doppler for now. This is the main reason I haven't brought one as I know it would cause me worry. Your 20 week scan was perfect and they do such a in depth check of the heart at this stage I have no doubt LO is just not playing ball. Do keep us updated. 

2have, my birth plan is for it to be drug free, painless and very quick lol!!! Honestly, I am terrified, but I am trying to prepare for it as much as I can by getting fit, taking up yoga and listening to hypnobirthing online, I would rather to it as natural as possible but I don't know how feasible that actually is. I am not sure what Birthing options are available yet so no real plan, I am attending a private antenatal class which will go over our options so will probably decided then. Although I think I want to use water birthing while I am in labour I have heard it helps. If any mums already have some advice for birthing tips please feel free to share. 

Rebecca and praying, arh so great you are finally feeling babies, funny how us with anterior placentas are feeling them at the same time. About time too... I am still getting the little flutters.

Does anyone have any advice on prams/travel systems I have looked at so many I am confused. 

X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie, I have the uppababy vista which I'm quite happy with. We bought adapters for it so the car seat can click right in. It's a bulky stroller but it's a real full size stroller. I like that it has a bassinet which is great for the first few months. Pushes well and most importantly they have excellent customer service. My basket broke and they shipped me a new one within a few days! It's pricey but in my opinion worth the cost.
Of course we will be needing a double so I'm not sure what to do yet :)


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## Myshelsong

Birth plan?! Are we really thinking that far ahead yet? Omg the idea terrifies me. Years ago I had a wish for a water birth with beautiful music, essential oils, a doula and my husband and around me. Now not so much, my body (and age) has changed so much from when I first envisioned having a child. I thought I would have kids by 28, I am now 34 and not at my best weight. I had a bad herniated disc a few years ago that caused some degradation of my L4 and L5 so in reality I am hoping my doctor will approve a c-section. I really do not want a herniated disc and a newborn at the same time, and the idea of pushing at that angle makes me so scared. The pain I had with my disc and nerve is way worse than any abdominal stitches that I could imagin. I am even fine doing the Csection and follow up with minimal drugs so I can breast feed. In honesty there is pain and then there is nerve pain. 

Trying to keep my mind off the Doppler. I think I felt movement but trying not to get my hopes up, just thinking positive. 

On a side note I Watched this new McDonald's commercial today with a crying baby and an old man that buys his neighbor breakfast and it just keeps making me cry! I feel like a crazy hormone lady lol bawling at tv commercials.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca congrats on feeling the babies! I got the uppa baby Vista like you and my friend got the Britax B-Ready stroller which was also on my list. Boy am I glad I didn't get that one! It's larger in wheel base so it's hard to turn with more than 1 child in it or groceries in the bottom and the longer wheelbase makes it heavier to lift into the car. The Uppababy vista comes with a bassinet whereas I think you have to purchase it with the Britax B-ready and we still use it as she can lie down flat and have a sleep with her teddy & blanket if she needs to rather than lying back in a chair. The uppababy fits as many configurations as a B-ready but it comes in many more colour choices and fits a skate board for when DD gets older. 

Pinkie I always knew I was going to have more than 1 child so I didn't want to have to buy two strollers and this one does 1, 2 or from what I've learned from my FB twins group is it does 3 with twins very nicely in the bassinet with an older child in the front seat. We have the clickable Chicco Keyfit30 car seat that fits the stroller for quick trips to the grocery store and that's lasted her whole first year. Whatever you choose, take a look at weight and length too. Are you planning to have more than 1? You don't want to be lifting a massive thing and with the small length of the uppababy it fits nicely into my small Acura RSX hatchback car trunk along with the bassinet. I like the adaptability of it. Not sure what options there are in Britain, maybe there are more like I've heard a little about the icandy? Not sure how the icandy would compare. Money wasn't a factor for us, we put it out there that this was the stroller we wanted and between my mom and some of her friends they bought it for us used (I found the listing and insisted they didn't waste $400 more on a new one). There's always used strollers available if you choose a fancy system.

I don't really have a birthing plan but I know what worked for me and what didn't with the first. The contractions were much more painful that I ever imagined them being. Being in the shower was great for my pain so I stayed in as long as I could and had to come out in order to time the contractions properly (it took SO much pain away!) After 3 hours in the shower at home I decided I wouldn't be able to deal with the pain anymore once I got out and needed to go to the hospital for intervention. I also had a tens unit that really helped, especially on the 20 min car ride over. I tried an injection of something when I got there and that did nothing and neither did the gas & air. The 1/2 epidural was fantastic, I could still feel my legs just not the debilitating contractions. I could still push and was fully operational, it let me breath and have some joy in the whole delivery process. We were cracking jokes after it kicked in, it was amazing. I could barely breath the contractions were so frequent and intense (prob why the gas & air didn't work as I couldn't catch my breath) and I was just hanging onto the bed rail for dear life overheating and hyperventilating from the pain. So my plan is much the same, stay at home in the shower until I can't stand the pain and then hike on on down to the hospital and get a 1/2 epi and start the delivery process.


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## Pinkie3

Thanks for the uppa baby recommendation, it looks great. My shortlist was the Buggaboo and the Silver Cross but this is now in the mix. Yes I would love another child so uppa might be the way forward. We have two Frosties and I hope to use them soon as I feel ready. If they don't work I think that might be me done I am not sure how many more cycles I can put myself through but we'll see, it's a long way off. 

Myshel, i completely understand your concerns about the birth, if I had a medical condition to consider then I would be the same and I am sure they will be supportive in helping you make the right decision. I completely feel you on the emotions, we went to watch Bridget Jones yesterday and I got so emotional watching the birth scene, so did DH bless him. 

2have, thanks for sharing your experience, I am so pleased to hear you can have 1/2 epidural. I am not good with pain but I want to still be in control of my own body so the thought of a full one freaks me out. Now I have said that I bet I ask for every drug they have available. I am sure most plans go out the window but I want to be as prepared as I can. I am also going to ask them to cut me if needed, I don't want to tear, I have heard it heals much better if its a clean cut (the thought makes me shudder). I have got yoga tonight and we are using the birthing ball so if I like it I will get myself one of them and get practicing. People might think I am crazy but I really don't want a C section, I have heard the recovery is long and difficult (does anyone know any different), when I had my ectopic surgery I was in so much pain after and I only have a 2 inch scar each side, I couldn't even get out of bed or up off the sofa and took me two weeks to feel better.

X


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## rebecca822

I had my 20 week OB appointment today. It was supposed to be next week but they called me to reschedule. The doctor found both heartbeats on the Doppler and said everything looks great.
I have my 20 week scan on Tuesday!!
I'll be having OB appointments every two weeks and an ultrasound at every appointment :)


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca I have mine next week Tuesday as well! :happydance::bunny:


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## rebecca822

Yay 2have Tuesday will be fun!! Are you still staying team yellow?
You will have your scan much earlier than me since you're a few hours ahead. 
Can't wait to compare notes ;)

Has anyone heard from Beemeck? I'm getting worried?!


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## 2have4kids

I'm on mountain standard time, second last timezone in the world. I think a few hours after you however my appointment is at 7:45 am. So I might just be before you anyway depending. We're team yellow all the way. It's going to KILL me not to know but that's what we both agreed to.:wacko:

What's everyone up to this weekend?


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## elliecain

rebecca822 said:


> Yay 2have Tuesday will be fun!! Are you still staying team yellow?
> You will have your scan much earlier than me since you're a few hours ahead.
> Can't wait to compare notes ;)
> 
> Has anyone heard from Beemeck? I'm getting worried?!

She's doing really well... Check out her journal :)
https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/p...ant-recovered-surgery-making-baby-bee-15.html


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> I'm on mountain standard time, second last timezone in the world. I think a few hours after you however my appointment is at 7:45 am. So I might just be before you anyway depending. We're team yellow all the way. It's going to KILL me not to know but that's what we both agreed to.:wacko:
> 
> What's everyone up to this weekend?

Hmm I don't know why I assumed you were ahead of me. Well yes you are still earlier since my appointment is at 2:45pm. Eeek!

Babies are kicking all the time and it's just so comforting to feel them.

Ellie- thanks for posting. Glad beemeck is doing ok. I was worried about her surgery..

2have- this weekend we will be going to my mom (sleeping over Friday). It's usually so relaxing there as they all watch DD and me and DH get to sleep as much as we want ;)
We'll have a big lunch on Saturday with some friends at my parents house and then head home after dinner on Saturday to put DD to bed.
Sunday is usually my shopping day. I try to stock the house up for the coming week so I don't have to run out for dinner ingredients.

My insomnia has been getting bad again. I was up a few nights in a row already and it's just making it really tough for me the following day. My doctor suggested taking unisom but I really don't want to take it every night. Urghhh!!


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, glad you got to hear your babies again and they are moving a lot. Mine seems to have slowed down, I keep poking him/her to get some flutters lol. Sorry about the insomnia, I hope you get some sleep while at your parents this weekend. 

No plans this weekend, DH has been off work for two weeks so we've been busy, probably be a chilled one. I thought DH would drive me mad being at home but I have loved it, I will be sad when he goes back on Monday. 

I had pregnancy yoga last night and we used the birthing ball, I loved it and just ordered myself one. If you haven't used one I recommend looking into it X


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## Fern81

Sorry for being mia it's crazy busy here with work & renovations. I've been back home for 2 days and while we haven't had another fight, things are very akward between husband and me. Idk how it will get better if we don't do therapy or don't follow through on good ideas (started love languages etc but stopped after a week because he is too busy). Renovations are freaking ridiculous and now we have A YELLOW FLOOR but it's too much to go into. Anyways, all else is OK. 

Myshel- thinking of you!

Pinkie- how did you use the ball? I have a smaller ball (about 60cm diameter) and wonder if I can use it for similar exercises. 

Nice that almost everyone is feeling their babies :) I'm starting to feel mine a bit more again too.

Birth plan- epidural and natural birth if possible. As much pain medication as I can get/that won't harm my son lol. I'm not brave at all and PETRIFIED of hospitals, doctors, procedures etc.


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## 2have4kids

Ooooh fern, a yellow floor? Is that a hardwood stain mistake? Sorry to hear that. I hope things get a little smoother with you two! 

Our counsellor had a good session with us last night. DH wanted to get into his usual bickering & arguments about how I'm not 'logical' or how it is that he's correct on all matters and then tried it on the counsellor. She said that his style of logic lacks emotional foundations and he'd have a pretty tough time in any relationship arguing all the time on this level. She said what it does is disrespects the other person in the room & demeans any relationship to that of less than the subject/object that he's bickering over. I loved it! I have my own faults too. I asked him to let me get a good night kiss in with DD before he put her to bed & he started an hour long bicker about that. Next time I need to say what a great father he is and how much I appreciate him putting her to bed before I ask to get a wee kiss in. It feels like I have to stroke ego and sugar coat everything in order to get small things but I think he has MUCH more work to do than myself so I happily agreed to stroke ego before asking for anything in the future. You can't get anywhere if you haven't done your part and I will make sure I cover mine so there's less time spent on me next time and more on the insane bickering & disrespect from him.

We're off to the GP today for DD's 12 month check up. And then dinner & ballet tonight :happydance:


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## Pinkie3

2have, that sounds like a good session, I am glad it went well. It's amazing how you stand up and take note when it comes from a third person. I hope this is just the start of improvements for you both. 

Fern, a yellow floor sounds interesting. I hope you get that sorted soon. I also hope things get better with DH, take it one step at a time and continue moving forward in the right direction. Most importantly look after yourself and that little boy. 

As for the birthing ball, we were told we can use a gym ball too, the most important thing is the height, your hips need to be higher than your knees when sitting on it. The recommendations are 65cm ball up to 5'8 and taller than that a 75cm ball. We learnt how to use it for good posture, relaxation, getting baby into optimal foetal position, to strengthen and prepare the body for birth and to use during labour. To think you can use a ball for all of that. I am sure there are plenty of videos and information online that will show you how to use them properly. 

X


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## 2have4kids

I used the ball before delivery but they offered it to me while I was in labour and it felt like the waters were about to burst and were giving me sooo much pressure. I could barely sit in the car, hated being wheeled in and so glad to lie down. Bouncing or sitting on that thing would have hurt. I haven't heard this too much though from other ladies. There's no way I could squat and that's how some deliver! The pressure was unbelievable I just had to avoid putting more pressure on the groin area after labour started.


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## Pinkie3

I definitely think you need to use the ball before Labour to know what you like and don't as yesterday I had to change my positions from how some were doing it as I wasn't comfortable. She has told us to practice as early on as possible. There were a lot of floor positions too but I think you don't know you want until you are in that situation. How much this really does work I don't know but I like the idea of it. X


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## Myshelsong

I have to apologize I cannot bring myself to read anyone's update. 

Unfortunately our little peanut did not make it and I am sitting in L&D slowly being induced. We have no answers except it wasn't meant to be. I truly appreciate all your support during the last few amazing months and wish everyone a happy and healthy pregnancy. 

Not sure if I will be on again, but I may pop by in a few months and say hi when it isn't to new.


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## 2have4kids

Oh myshelsong, I'm SO sorry! How unfair & cruel. I have no other words, just tears. :hugs::hug:


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## Fern81

Myshel I don't know if you will read this but I'm so sorry and upset for your part. This is so unexpected. I wish there was something I could say or do to make this even a little better. Sending you love, prayers, good wishes and healing thoughts. Ugh these words just seem so inadequate.... please know you have so many ladies lifting you up in prayer & support. Xxxxxx


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## elliecain

I don't even know what to say Myshel. I'm so sorry and I'm thinking of you.


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## Pinkie3

Myshel, I am in shock your message has brought so many tears, this is heartbreaking I don't know what to say. 

I am thinking of you and DH, take care of each other xxx


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## froggyfrog

I'm so sorry myshel, I can't even imagine what your going through, but I will say some prayers for you. This is absolutely horrible. I'm so sorry.


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## Myshelsong

Thank you for your love and support friends. We are back from the hospital and physically doing well.
Our little boy was born at 3:32am and we named him Blue. I was able to have a few minutes with him and say my goodbyes which was a blessing. 
There are no words that will heal this loss, just time and then more time. 
Signing off, and wishing you all well. Michelle


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## Rq120

Hugs, lots of love, and prayers for you Myshelsong.


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## elliecain

Rest in peace, little Blue.
Michelle, I'm so sorry and my prayers are with you xxx


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## 2have4kids

:cry::cry::cry:
:hugs:


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## rebecca822

Myshel I hope you will see my post. Sending you my thoughts and prayers. May you be comforted during this difficult time. 
Sending many hugs.


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## rebecca822

I am just so sad for myshelsong, I can't stop thinking about her.


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## 2have4kids

I've had a few cries, I've only lost my babies in first tri, I couldn't imagine beyond that. Still brings me to tears thinking about it. I'm terrible with these things.


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> I've had a few cries, I've only lost my babies in first tri, I couldn't imagine beyond that. Still brings me to tears thinking about it. I'm terrible with these things.

Same here lost 2 in the first trimester. Poor Michelle &#128532;


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## Pinkie3

I am exactly the same, I can't stop thinking about her and that little boy, its so sad and so unfair :-(


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## Fern81

I've been crying on and off & just feel so helpless, wish we could do more! 
At the same time it's really a blessing just to see (again!) how much support and kindness there is in this forum. You ladies really are all a source of inspiration and I for one, feel that you are really enriching this experience for me & one another xxx this is one of the reasons ltttc and ivf has been worth it.


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## Pinkie3

Fern, I agree, I love coming on here to talk to you ladies and hear how you are all getting on. It's a wonderful support group. 

I am not going to lie and I feel incredibly selfish saying this so please forgive me but I can't help but feel terrified about what has happened to Myshel. I cried for her and I cried for myself, how can this happen??? I honestly thought after everything looking good at the 20 week scan the risk of losing baby were minimum. This has really frightened me. 

I am sending lots of love to you ladies and your babies and I hope everyone is doing ok and managed to have a nice weekend xx


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## rebecca822

Pinkie me too. I'm terrified something will go wrong any second. Bottom line is you never feel safe. 
I started looking at double strollers and called a few stores for pricing but who knows if god will give me both babies healthy? Pregnancy is just terrifying and I feel shaken to my core. Please god let me deliver both of my babies full term healthy.
And please give Michelle the comfort and strength that she needs because she has a tough time ahead of her, poor thing.


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## Fern81

Hope everyone's weekend was OK. Thinking about you all!


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## rebecca822

Fern my weekend was lovely until I read myshel's post on Saturday :(

Tomorrow is my 20 week scan and I'm very anxious.


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## Rq120

Hi all, I'm back from vacation. I had a lovely week. Beautiful (but hot!) weather and lots of time relaxing and visiting with family. It was nice to have a week off of work. Unfortunately, back to the grindstone today. :(

I scheduled a 3D/4D ultrasound for my mother-in-law last Tuesday. It was a surprise birthday present and the only time she will be able to see an ultrasound of her first grandbabies since we live in Indiana and she lives in Florida. The place was amazing. I paid for a 20 min session but the guy spent a lot of time with us and it was a lovely place. The boy gave us a precious pic of his face but the girl just didn't want to cooperate. We got lots of pics of her ear. LOL. Either way MIL was just thrilled and loved it! I will share a few pictures in a bit. 

I have to say that the babies are defiantly growing in there. Bump is getting bigger and rarely I have a little trouble getting up (out of bed or off the couch). The last few mornings I have woke up with some discomfort in my lower belly. I change positions and it goes away so it is just from stretching and position.

I hope everyone is doing ok. Myshelsong's news shook us all up and we are all very sad. I continue saying prayers for her and my own little ones.

Rebecca - I hope you have a great scan tomorrow. I was a little nervous before my anatomy scan, but it quickly passed and was a beautiful experience.


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## rebecca822

Rq that's a really nice gift for your mom! Mine really wants to come along with me But we don't want to tell them about twins so I keep shrugging her off.
Glad you had a nice vacation! DH, DD and I will be going to New York for the weekend for a family reunion with DHs moms family. I'm really looking forward to that. It will be Friday night but we travel on Thursday and return Sunday. 
My sister who is a nurse keeps asking if she can listen to the heartbeat with her stethoscope. She says I'm far enough along that she would be able to hear a hearbeat. I told her no! lol I can't have her finding both heartbeats that will ruin the big surprise :)

Otherwise I'm feeling ok!

How's everyone else doing?


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## Pinkie3

RQ, glad you enjoyed your break and got some rest. That's a lovely thing you done for your MIL and I am sure she really appreciated the effort. 

Rebecca, when are you going to tell your family it is twins? Good luck at your scan tomorrow I am sure it will be great. 

2have, I think you have your scan tomorrow too. Best of luck. 

I am doing ok, still feel sick when I need to eat and it's getting really boring. I miss my food and I miss cooking. I had to go the supermarket today and it always makes me feel ill, I am one of those rare people who love food shopping and spend ages looking at everything, now I run around and can't get out quick enough. Othewise everything else is good, bump is coming along and I am not so tired. I am getting on with things in the house and I know exactly what I am buying for baby but won't be doing that for a while yet. Birthing ball arrived today so looking forward to getting some practice on that. 

Hope everyone else is good? Xx


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## Rq120

My girl's side profile.
 



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## Rq120

Adorable little pic of my boy.
 



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## rebecca822

Pinkie we are keeping it a secret until they are born. Can't wait for DH to call our parents after I give birth and say , "congrats Rebecca had a Girl AND Boy!!!"
Rq those are awesome!! So real!! Can't wait to get a 3D of mine. We did it at about 14 weeks but I'm hoping for another one. My doctors office doesn't charge for them so I can usually ask them to do it.


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## Prayingforno1

Rq120-lovely scans

Myshelsong-I am so sorry. I don&#8217;t know what to say but sending you lots of :hugs: and prayers. This is a tough one

Hello to everyone else, just reading about Myshel and needless to say I am shook up, sigh. We&#8217;ve all had a journey to get here and to hear that news is truly heartbreaking. I will definitely keep her in my prayers.


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## Fern81

Rq- lovely scan pics! So nice to see their little faces and wonder what they will look like. 3d scans are the best. I also have two 4d videos; on the video from the previous scan you can see my boy swallowing a few times and moving around :). Glad you had such a nice holiday.

Rebecca - gl with your scan hun!! Share some pics if you can. 

We are going to Cape Town next week for a few days and I'm really looking forward to the break! Things are still crazy at home with the renovations and I just want to get away for a few days. 

Pinkie - halfway there. Hugs!


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## Fern81

Oh yeah 2have someone else also mentioned it; you have a scan too right? Fx and post some pics xx!


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## Prayingforno1

Yey! New scans!! Can't wait to see them ladies.


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## rebecca822

Good luck 2have! Can't wait to hear about your scan. Another 5 hours until mine....


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## 2have4kids

Scan went well thanks ladies, baby A is 320g and B was 335g, they like them to be similar in weight/size. Didn't find out the genders. Will post photos once I get back to work. 

I hope everyone is doing well today.


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## Prayingforno1

Great news 2have!! Now we wait on Rebecca's update


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## rebecca822

2have I'm so Glad everything went well, go team yellow!!

I'll post as soon as I'm done, I literally can't concentrate on work I'm so nervous.


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## 2have4kids

2have4kids said:


> scan went well thanks ladies, baby a is 320g and b was 335g, they like them to be similar in weight/size. Didn't find out the genders. Will post photos once i get back to work.
> 
> I hope everyone is doing well today.


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## 2have4kids




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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> View attachment 968025

What a great view! Look at his/her little arm :)


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## Rq120

2have - so cute.

I have to go back to my OB this week on Thursday. I don't know if I mentioned it but at the last visit they informed me they are having me come every 2 weeks for a few visits because the MFM recommended close cervix monitoring from week 20-24 (I think?). My cervix is actually really long, but I will follow instructions.


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## 2have4kids

Weird RQ, apparently they'll look at that on my next scan Oct 21st. As long as they're taking good care of you that's all that matters.


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## rebecca822

Rq same here. It's pretty standard protocol for twins for the cervix to be monitored. Mine also does an ultrasound to check the growth rate of both babies to make sure they are growing equally. 
Heading out the hospital for my scan!!!
I'll update you all in a few hours. Eeek!!


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## Fern81

Lovely scan pics 2have! I won't lie; was hoping to get a look at a nub shot so I could secretly guess the gender lol. :) glad they're doing well! 

Rebecca I might be asleep by the time you update, but I'll check in first thing tomorrow morning. X


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## 2have4kids

Fern81 said:


> Lovely scan pics 2have! I won't lie; was hoping to get a look at a nub shot so I could secretly guess the gender lol. :) glad they're doing well!
> 
> Rebecca I might be asleep by the time you update, but I'll check in first thing tomorrow morning. X

Oh I tried! I just couldn't tell, no nice screen shots of between the legs. I asked her half way through and she said yup, I already know...SO JEALOUS! :wacko:


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## froggyfrog

Adorable scan pics 2have!! 

Good luck with your scan Rebecca! 

Afm, I had my diabetic education class and learned a lot. So far my sugar has been in check, so hopefully that means I won'tbe needing to be put on meds. I'm only one week away from v-day!!! And I'll be having a scan next week to check the placenta. Hopefully it has moved! Dh is still healing and I have been busy taking care of him, but he is getting better!


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## Pinkie3

Arh loving these scan pictures, so many much wanted and will be loved the most babies. Glad everything went well with the scan 2have and I always get jealous that the sonographer knows the gender, I have to really bite to tongue not to say "oh go on then just tell me". 

Good luck Rebecca. 

RQ, hope the cervix check goes well. I have been reading a lot about this recently, is this only for twin pregnancies because I don't have mind done. 

Foggy, glad DH is doing well and you are being a good nurse. Hopefully the tables can turn again soon. 

X


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## rebecca822

Just finished with the scan. I'll update with pictures a bit later.
Both babies are great!!


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## rebecca822

This little one is Joseph
 



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## rebecca822

And here is Baby Alisa (we may change the spelling to Alyssa)
 



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## 2have4kids

Nice scan photos rebecca! Very clear pics of the cutesters.


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## Fern81

Aaah congrats rebecca! They are beautiful :).

Froggy- shame, glad your dh is finally on the mend after being undiagnosed for so long. Hope his recovery is quick!

Next week this time I'll be in Cape Town. We're going away for a few days as it's a school holiday. Can't wait to take a break! My students are driving me up the wall lol... most of the time it's not their fault, it's just like all I want to do is focus on being pregnant, sleeping and nesting; NOT explaining schoolwork to them lol!! Only 7,5 weeks until most of my work is done and mat leave begins.


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## Rq120

So cute Rebecca. 

How many of you have names picked out? DH seems to like Claire and Oliver but I feel like I need to explore more options before I settle on names.


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## nimbec

Hi all firstly Myshel im so sorry I can't imagine how tough this is for you - thinking of you!! 

I'm so sorry I am not posting often, I do read as much as I can I'm just SO unbelievably busy with work commitments. Having our own business managing staff and we exhibited at the largest UK pet trade show last weekend so I worked 16hr days and they included putting up and down stand so I'm shattered. Also have an ear infection along with blocked sinuses so feeling pretty sorry for my self lol!

So lovely to see all the scan pics and see you talking about names - time is flying by...wonder who the first to deliver will be?! 

I will try to keep up better but I'm thinking of you all. X


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## rebecca822

Hi nimbec, nice to hear from you!

Rq we are using family names so we didn't have to do much thinking. Can you each choose 1 name? I would make a lot of all the names and then decide together which ones you both like. 

One thing that I did not mention yesterday is that placenta from baby A is low lying and slightly covering the cervix. If it does not move I will not be able to deliver naturally they will need to give me a C section. Although I really did want to try for a natural I went through a C section before and I can do it again if I need to.
Fingers crossed that the placenta moves over in the coming weeks.

Ok starting to do serious research on Double strollers. My final two contestants are the Bumbleride Indie Twin and Bugaboo Donkey.
Rq and 2have have you thought about doubles yet?


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## Rq120

Rebecca - somewhat. I have a double side-by-side that a friend was going to throw away!!! We cleaned it and it is in good shape. DH and I are partial to front-back double strollers so we might look at getting another as our main one while they are younger. We bought infant car seats already for a deal so there are a few strollers that they could snap into. One gets good reviews and is fairly affordable so I think we will look into that one more. There are so many strollers and it is overwhelming. I haven't done as much research as I should, but I also just want to keep it simple, practical, and affordable. 

My sis-in-law is throwing a shower for me. My due date is Feb 5th, but with twins it is closer to Jan 15. With the holidays, we are going to have it Nov 6th. SIL is putting a deposit down on a place today and I made a guest list. We need to order invites SOON and that means I need to register soon too. For some reason, this part (just like the strollers) is overwhelming to me. Also, we want to cloth diaper and there are so many options (prefolds, folds, covers, diaper service, etc). I need to do some research but I just can't bring myself to do it......
Unfortunately, I don't have any mom friends so I feel like I am kinda on my own. I also keep thinking about joining a support group but haven't done that either.


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## Pinkie3

Nimbec, nice to hear from you. Sorry work has been manic, I hope you get some down time soon. 

Fern, enjoy Cape Town, you deserve a nice break to think about you and the LO. 

Arh Rebecca, cute scan pictures, I hope the placenta moves in time for the birth. There is only so much planning you can do isn't there.

RQ, we have our girls name but if it's a boy I think he is going to be nameless! That's nice that your SIL is helping with the baby shower. We don't have them here in the UK although I think people are starting to. I don't have any local mum friends either but hoping to make some at our antenatal classes. I think that's where most people meet other mums with their first born. Do you have any local ones you can attend? 

I went to Aquafit this morning and loved being in the water, I am not sure how my little monkey felt about being bounced around in there but it was fun. I was a bit nervous at first with my belly moving and kept holding it but I started to relax as we got into it and it was good. Although I have to say I am exhausted this afternoon, it's the most exercise I have done in months. I will sleep well tonight.

X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie- the water sounds wonderful with baby. I think I would really enjoy that.

Rq- Lucky for you to get a free stroller. I much prefer the side by sides anyways.
Sorry I can't help much in the cloth diaper department I wonder what most people use. I am eager to register I'm just not sure which store to register at. I really do have most things that we need but I'll still register anyways. We don't do baby showers either people wait till the baby is born to buy a gift.


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca did they put you on pelvic rest? I hope it moves for both of us!


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## Fern81

We've picked out our son's name (from the name scrambler website lol!) Second name is my husband's name. But I don't want to share it on a public forum as I'm paranoid about personal info on social media.... previous stalker issues. If anyone is very curious you are welcome to PM me. 

My doctor has measured my cervical length at my 12week and emergency appointments. 

Nimbec that's insane. I hope you can find a way to scale it down!

Rq I'm glad it's not just me. I feel overwhelmed by the very thought of having a newborn! I'm loving the pregnancy and it's going by so fast. It took me forever to book a hospital tour etc.

Rebecca - my sister has twins and uses a side-by-side. It's really handy to feed them in!! & for when you need to face both of them for whatever reason (storytime etc). But a bit difficult to navigate in shop aisles.


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## rebecca822

froggyfrog said:


> Rebecca did they put you on pelvic rest? I hope it moves for both of us!

No they did not.
Remind me, I don't recall what the story was with your placenta.


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## froggyfrog

The same as yours, covering the cervix. They told me no orgasms until it moves because the contractions can do something to the placenta and cause bleeding.


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## rebecca822

froggyfrog said:


> The same as yours, covering the cervix. They told me no orgasms until it moves because the contractions can do something to the placenta and cause bleeding.

Oh right i remember reading that. Interesting. Mine is only partially covering not fully covering.
I wonder what my OB will say I'll ask him next week at my appointment. I met with the MFM department in the hospital where they went over my scan results so maybe my OB will say something else.


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## froggyfrog

Yeah I would ask, my MFM was the one who told me no sex, and then when I went in to see my OB I asked her about orgasms and she said no.


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## Fern81

Rebecca and froggy I hope both your placentas move up. X 

And good job on the sugar froggy!

Pinkie, bouncing around in the water with a heavy belly sounds divine :).


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## 2have4kids

Fern congrats on picking a name. I think other than getting pregnant, and giving birth, that's one of the most challenging items for us. We're both pretty picky about names.

Rebecca & Froggy did they discuss the likelihood that the placentas can move? 

Pinkie yes I like aquafit (and deep water running) too. It's low impact and if you want A really good workout you can sweat while still staying cool. When I taught swim lessons I got certified to teach these two types of classes but never went that direction. But to see what other instructors were doing (and how effective it was) I attended lots of classes. It's relaxing too but I slways got really hungry after water workouts, water seems to do that. Enjoy it bella!

RQ lucky to have a double stroller donated. I'm with you on preferring tandem, I like how light and compact they are. I don't want maneuverability problems and oh my, lifting them into the car is a challenge too. Keep it light!

Hi to everyone! 
I have my second OB appointment tomorrow. The big question I have for her is how do they turn those second babies around for delivery? YouTube has scared the heck out if me with a doctor shoving his arm up there...three times (poor lady!)


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## rebecca822

2have, Im not sure what the likelihood of it moving over is. Im going to ask OB next Friday. 
Baby B is transverse so that question makes me curious too. I wonder how they will move him after A is born. Ouch!


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## froggyfrog

From what I have read, they have a higher chance of moving at around week 20. If your diagnosed after week 20 the chances of it moving are slightly smaller. Most of the time it moves out of the way, but in the cases it doesn't you are put on bed rest later on and pelvic rest the whole time. It requires a c section, which will be a little earlier than normal to insure you don't go into labor.


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## 2have4kids

Oh bed rest would be haaard! I hope it moves for you ladies. 

Rebecca my baby B was transverse too, A is head down. B is up sitting across from rib to rib.


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## Rq120

My B was sitting rib to rib too on my anatomy scan. However, she moves everywhere (up side down, one side to another). They have a lot of room to move around right now still so I wouldn't worry about positions too much yet.


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## ES89

Hi all, sorry I've not been online for a while. So sorry to hear about Michelle's loss, thoughts are with her. I had my dating scan yesterday, everything is looking good and edd is 25th March &#55357;&#56474; Hope everyone else is doing ok xx


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, ES glad to hear you and the baby are doing well. 

So my OB confirmed they do indeed reach up there and move baby into position. If she feels feet, she will pull baby down to deliver breach, if head, she will guide the head into position. Yes please, sign me up for an epidural!! I'm feeling very clear confident about delivery, despite the hand up the hoohaa:wacko:


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## rebecca822

2have oh no!! lol my baby is in the same position as yours so we can all compare notes after they are born!
Why do they do this when there's twins but a c section when there's a singleton breech? Hmm

Es glad you're doing well!

1 week till me next OB appointment I'm curious what he has to say about the placenta thing. Heading to the airport in a few hours for our family reunion tomorrow night in New York! I am really excited but also had a really tough time with the wardrobe. Proper maternity make me look really large and my regular clothes are too tight. DHs family is in the clothing industry and very judgemental ;)


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## Pinkie3

ES, nice to hear from you and that everything is going well. Congratulations on reaching the second trimester.

2have, they put their arm up there?? :wacko: is that allowed? You're going to be reaching for the ceiling! Have they given you any tips on how to encourage them to move? In my yoga we're told to spend time on all fours each day but I don't know if that is the same for twins. Have they not offered a C Section or would you prefer to try this method? 

Rebecca, enjoy NY and I am sure you will look beautiful in whatever you wear, especially with that pregnant glow. 

I went to my pregnancy yoga last night which I love, it's so nice to get me and baby time and my yoga teacher is fab, she seems to know everything and provides us with lots of information as well as our yoga lesson. She makes me feel like I can really do this! Yesterday we learnt about preparation for birth with massage and breathing. The perineum massage which I am not sure about 8-[ did any of you mummies try this? And horse lip breathing which helps the perineum open for birth, its much easier for you to google these than me try and explain but basically it's really important to make sure your lips and jaw are completely relaxed to help with pushing which is why they ask you to tug your chin in. DH is going to wonder what the hell I am doing during labour when I am walking around the room like Charlie Chaplin and then doing horse expressions :haha: I don't know how much any of these techniques work but I am trying everything and if sharing this info helps at least one of you then it's worth it. Otherwise please tell me to shut up!

I can't believe it's Friday again already, is anyone up to anything nice weekend? My plans have fallen through last minute which I am gutted about. X


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## Fern81

5 months pregnant today aahhh! And I have the day off!! It's 11am and I'm lying around binge watching Grey's anatomy lol. 

I feel my son kicking everywhere so it seems like he's still doing a lot of moving around on his own?? I think I'll start trying things to turn him head down only in December?


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, Rebecca, they do this with twin pregnancies (hand in to guide bsby down) and not singleton because the path is already open since twin A comes out. With a singleton if they reach in there or touch baby during the delivery it can put baby into that reflex position with back arched, arms out and head back effectively grtting baby stuck. They want baby in tuck position especially when opening may not be all the way open. Enjoy your reunion and walk with your head high...confidence is everything no matter what clothing you wear/how you look. 

Hi Pinkie, sunce one baby is head down it's all good, they should actually be able to turn baby B without evn going in there but I have read lots during my first pregnsncy on spinning babies. Downward dog seems to help babies flip, i just hope twin A stsys there with head down position for birth. Lots of time still for them to float around & move. Glad to hear you're enjoying your yoga!!

Fern oh thank goodness for days off yes! I took yesterday afternoon off to get all the treats that we'll need for DD's birthday. And today is my regular (compressed work week) day off. I hired an inexpensive cleaning lady to came yesterday and she did a great job. Now to decorate the house for tomorrow's party. And to try to get DH to keep it semi-clean. He's already filled both of DD's hands with arrowroot biscuits snd let her wander around the house. I told him if she starts crawling and marks up the floors or crumbles thdm he'll b vacuuming /mopping tomorrow-not me! Same goes for using the main toilet, if you use it/drop a log, you clean it!:wacko:


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## Pinkie3

2have, a log!! Lol!! I would be exactly the same. Nothing worse than having everything ready for DH to just undo all the hard work. Happy Birthday to little MacKinley I hope you have a fabulous party tomorrow, she is going love all the attention. I still remember you posting when she was born, I can't believe that was a year ago. 

Yes you are right there is still plenty of time of baby B to move and you know exactly what you're doing and if anyone will get that baby moving it will be you. 

Fern, enjoy your day off and some relaxing time with the TV and your little boy. I'm jealous you feel movement so much. Mine is still very sporadic, I felt something last weekend but nothing since, I am not worried as it's still early for me with my anterior placenta and apparently I should get more movement after 25 weeks. You might not need to do any exercises to turn your boy, babies should do it on their own, it's only if you need some help nearer the time there are some good moves.

X

Edit: by the way how does everyone work out their months. I go on a 4,4,5 week and worked out I was 5 months at 21 weeks.


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## Fern81

I'm cleaning a bit too today, it's just impossible to get the house clean atm with the renovations and us basically living on the porch & our bedroom! Thank heavens it's summer. 

Pinkie- I literally count it month by month. I got my bfp on 28 May; so I counted the end of May as month 1. As my edd is 3 Feb, that gives me (in old fashioned terms) May-Jul as 1st tri, Aug-Oct as 2nd tri and Nov-end Jan as 3rd tri. Today being the last day of September I'm counting as 5 months :). 

2have - happy birthday DD!!!! Wow one year old already. I hope you have a wonderful day & that your dh doesn't mess up the house too much lol!

Rebecca - enjoy NY!


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## rebecca822

2have happy birthday to your little girl. 1 is a great age :)


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## Rq120

Hi all. Yay for Friday. 

I'm ready for some relaxing time this weekend. We have a painter coming to paint our downstairs ceiling tomorrow. I think I'm going to hide upstairs, do my nails, and let DH take are of it.

DH and I are going to start our baby registry this weekend sometime. I have some checklists and we are going to spend some time walking around a mega baby store and checking everything out. We had a family friend stop by yesterday and bring us 3 totes of boy baby clothes! It was so sweet of her. I think I have a few offers for baby girl hand-me-downs also. We should be all set in the clothes department. I need to do some research into cloth diapering because I am considering registering for cloth diaper supplies also.


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie I meant to say sorry to hear your plans fell through. Relax & enjoy me time:flower:

RQ before you get cloth diapers I highly suggest doing some research into the best ones. There's ALOT of expensive garbage on the market, so many moms quit cloth diapering because of ill fitting, too complicated or leaky cloth diapers. I used this site 

https://m.babygearlab.com/Cloth-Diaper-Reviews

to research the best ones and lucked out buying 30 Rumperoos for $100 slighty used and years worth of liners. They have lovely colours too:bunny:


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## Fern81

Hope you all have a lovely party today 2have! Would love to see photos. Especially how the cake turned out in the end!

Baby stuff.... I'm SO excited! I just got a whole load of baby gear from my cousin, including a cot with mattress and cot bumpers, feeding chair (that you hook onto a dinner table), co-sleeper (!!!), newborn car seat that can clip out of its adjustable base and clip into a pram, (as well as the pram it fits into), another pram, baby bath seats, formula mixer & warmer machine, various other mattresses, 2 sizes carrycots, baby carrier/sling, changing mat& pad, a whole bag full of bottles & teats & cups for freezing food in, and various toys! It feels like I've won the lotto!!! 

Hope you all have a nice weekend :).


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## froggyfrog

Sorry I haven't posted much lately ladies, I read along just don't post. Have fun in NY Rebecca! 
Fern that sounds amazing! It's so nice to get hand me downs, especially because they are free! 
2have, I second wanting pics of the party, and the cake!


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## froggyfrog

Pinkie I'm glad you are enjoying your yoga! That's awesome! 

We toured the pediatrician office and I was so impressed! They have separate buildings for the different ages, newborn center(0-1) , main office (1-12), and the teen center (13-21). Each center also has two different waiting areas, one for sick kids and the other for non sick kids. So that your children aren't exposed to colds and flu or stomach virus if they are coming in for a check up or vaccines. Also, the newborn center us super supportive of breastfeeding. They don't have regular chairs in the waiting room, they have private booths to wait in that have curtains you can pull for privacy while your nursing, and they play very soft classical music with dim lighting to help relax. They even have a private lactation room with dim lighting and a waterfall fountain. They have 3 lactation consultants on staff, who even make house calls so that they can help you latch in your own chair at home.


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## Rq120

Froggy - the office sounds wonderful. 

2have - thanks for the website info. We have a friend who has cloth diapered two and we're going to pick her brain too. 

The ceiling painting went well. We had two guys who completed it within 3.5hrs and did a great job cleaning up. Very nice men. 

Have a great weekend!


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## 2have4kids

Fern wow, you did win the baby stuff lotto!! Well done:happydance: if those crib bumpers aren't mesh think hard if you still want to use them. They've been banned in most countries now as babies get stuck against them and choke to death. I had these gorgeous bumpers that matched our set, I was SO sad to give them away. Maybe someone can upcycle them. They went to the thrift store.

Froggy the clinic sounds amazing. So nice when some thought to design has been put into the space.


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## 2have4kids

MacKinley smashed it!


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## rebecca822

Fern sounds like you won the jackpot! Nice job with all that babygear.

Froggy that sounds like a super awesome pediatricians office. Sounds really cool.

2have McKinley looks adorable, happy birthday!

My trip has been great so far. Heading to the airport in a few hours to fly home to Chicago.


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## Fern81

That's such a cute pic! She looks very happy. :) I know about the bumpers. Thinking of having baby sleep in the co-sleeper or getting mesh bumpers for the first few months and then using the soft ones only later when he is able to roll away. 

Rq- yay for one more reno down!


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## Fern81

Froggy that clinic sounds AMAZING. I've never even seen something like that around here.


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## Rq120

Started my baby registry this weekend and we are all done, except I have to tweak a few things online. I'm going to build an Amazon registry based on what I registered for in stores. Phew! It was a lot of work. 

Today a friend came over and brought us a changing table he MADE from scratch. He also included a change pad, diapers, baskets, and a bunch of other accessories. It was an amazing surprise and I love thoughtful, love-filled gifts!! Pic included.


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## Rq120

Changing table.
 



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## 2have4kids

Lovely change table RQ. What a sweet gift!


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies, I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. 

2have, so glad the party went well and the cake smash looks fab. I have an obsession with baby cheeks and your LO has fabulous ones, I could eat them! 

Froggy, your hospital sounds fab, I am sure all those little things will be so helpful. I really need to book a hospital tour. I know mine is supportive of BFing but that's all I know. 

Fern, wow that is a lot of baby stuff, that's really kind of your cousin and I am sure will save you a fortune. I still haven't brought a thing and should probably get a move on.

RQ, lovely changing table and thoughtful gift.

I hope everyone is doing well. Not much to report from me. I had a busy weekend, stopped at my sisters and we done a lot of home shopping, I am a bit scared to tell DH what I have ordered lol. I have my flu jab later today so trying to get some house work done as no doubt I'll have a dead arm for a few days. 

Have a good day all X


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## Fern81

Rq- what a gorgeous and practical gift! That's a true friend. :)

Pinkie- so WHAT did you order lol!? Hope your arm is not too sore.


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## 2have4kids

Yes Pinkie I'm dying to know too :happydance:

Last night I was feeling the kicks, up since 3:30am :-(
Good news is you can def feel yhem from the outside now! Bad news is I'm shattered. Ugg to ho yo work today....


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## Rq120

DH felt a baby kick for the first time last night. Finally! He has wanted to feel them so bad. 

I forgot to mention, I went to the doc's office last week and I was measuring 30 weeks. Yikes!!


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## Pinkie3

2have, sorry about the lack of sleep but yey for baby kicks, they will be booting DH in the back in no time. I am getting odd flutters still occasionally but they tickle more than anything.

As for my house shopping, I brought a new wardrobe and dressing table, new wall lights and pendants for the living room, our front reception room, entrance hall and upstairs landing. Plus I got new switches and dimmers for the whole house as I want to change the colours. I also got a large mirror for the living room and a small one for the hall, plus a small fabric bench. We are having 'pinkie time' tonight so I can show DH everything I have ordered, I am a bit worried ha ha. It will be fine, we moved in two years ago and knew we'd have to do the whole place up. We desperately need to do an extension on the kitchen but unfortunately our IVF cycles ate into that fund so we've decided to do the rest of the house and come back to the kitchen at a later date but I am getting excited about making the house as homely and comfortable as possible before baby arrives.

Just for back from flu jab and she also gave me the whopping couch jab too, so both arms are going to be dead later! X


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## 2have4kids

Wow Pinkie, you really went to town! Will DH help you install everything? We're sorting a new bedroom for DD to move into this weekend in between all of the Thanks Giving turkey feasts. It's better to do it now than in third tri, the belly will be too big by then! Happy decorating:bunny:


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## Fern81

Pinkie, that sounds amazing. Hope you enjoy installing it all! 

Well I'm not going to cape town anymore. A$$hole is going alone for 5 days, coming back briefly for a day or so and then leaving again for another 5 days (I think), on another business trip. He told me today that no matter what I do or how hard I try, I will never be good enough for him and all I do is mess up his life. He threatened AGAIN to cut me off financially and take my baby & physically throw me out of the house (all because I disagreed with his decision to let his brother who is a heroin and crack addict and alcoholic & has been for the past 20 years, stay in our house for the week that we were supposed to be in cape town, WITH a drug addict girlfriend that we've never met whom he wants to just get out of rehab for a week of partying! Never mind that his brother has stolen thousands of rands of stuff from us already & stole money again on Saturday which caused an enormous family problem AGAIN!)
I wish with my whole heart I could leave him.


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## Pinkie3

Oh Fern, reading your message makes me so sad. I am so sorry you are faced with this everyday when this should be such a special time in your life. If you so desperately want to leave him and go this alone is there nowhere you can go or anywhere that will offer you help? In terms of financially, do you own any of your assets together as you will be entitled to half. I don't know how this works where you are. If things are this bad now, I can only see them getting worse once your little boy arrives and it's not fair to you or him being exposed to that environment. Sometimes people are better being apart, it's not a failure, it's just life. My mum (bless her) finally divorced my dad after years of being unhappy but she should have done it when we were children because it was horrible to witness. People say they stay together for the sake of their children but I think that's the worse thing to do. If you are that unhappy it's better for the children you being apart. The only good thing that come out of witnessing my parents is that I will never argue with DH in front of them (bickering is completely different) because I will never forget those feelings, I always knew when one was going to start too and it was terrible. Big hugs to you Hun and I really hope you can get some support with this to help you move forward :hugs::hugs:


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## Fern81

I'm so so sad and upset. I can't leave him because I can't afford it, my home and my business is here on his property and I have nothing else. I've spent all my money and energy on "our" house and investing here... 
Also, my family can't know that anything is wrong. I'm so ashamed. They will definitely think it's all my fault because of mistakes I've made in the past with my ex husband. My family is the one good thing (other than my son) in my life right now and I can't afford having them think badly of me. I really have no other option than to stay.
I love you all to bits and appreciate having you to talk to. My marriage is horrible and he is really abusive & controlling and I have no-one to talk to except you guys. Thanks for listening.


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## froggyfrog

Oh fern, I'm so sorry. You don't have any sort of welfare from the government there that you can access until you can get back on your feet? I'm sure that if you explained your situation to your mom she may understand what your feeling? Surely they wouldn't bring up past mistakes and throw them in your face. I really hope things work out for you. You definitely don't need to be there. And about him taking your baby, I don't know how it is there, but here in the US the courts side with the mother more often than not. The mom has to be proven unfit, and that's tough to do even in some really bad cases.


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## 2have4kids

Fern, when things got bad with my DH recently I contacted a lawyer to get information on how, if I chose to, I could separate from him and what my rights are. Here, if you live common law or are married to someone you split all property between you in half - it doesn't matter who's name it's under. And I know you need your family's support right now but can you start confiding in them a little about what's going on? Eventually, if you do want to leave him you'll need the support of your family. Maybe you've made mistakes but don't we all? You may think that yours are more monumental but if you've changed your life it's their job to forgive, move on and support you. But just for your own long term well being maybe a lawyer can help you draw up a plan? I wish this wasn't happening to you, you really don't need all of this stress right now. Sending you massive hugs bella xx :hugs:


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## Rq120

Oh Fern! What can I say except I'm sorry that you are going through this. I can't imagine feeling trapped the way you feel right now. I have to agree with the others here to do some research. You must have some rights in all of this! My heart aches for you. I hope you find some way out of this situation where you and you baby can have a better life. :hugs:


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so sorry to hear how bad things are with you and DH. I hope you can sort things out so you don't have to be miserable.


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## Fern81

Thanks for the support as always! Unfortunately I really can't leave him & can't tell my family. I will only be able to leave once it gets worse or if I have a witness to his behaviour. If it ever comes to that, baby and I will really struggle financially because H won't sign divorce papers at this stage and has already made it clear that he will not give us a cent if we are separated. Nope, no government help.
However! He is officially GONE until Sunday night. I've already taken the week off work (just now booked one student for tomorrow), so I intend on having my own "vacation" and do nice things. Why allow him to steal all my joy, right? Going to visit my sister today & go to a craft market. 

Hope you all have a nice day! Who has a scan coming up? My next scan is next week Friday. My cousin will be going with me instead of husband. And then after the scan I'm doing the hospital tour.

Froggy and 2have how are you coping with your sugar issues?

Rq- is that 30week measurement for a singleton pregnancy? 

Pinkie - how are you doing with the nausea?


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## rebecca822

Fern I have an OB appointment Friday and I believe I will be having a scan.

Rq I was wondering the same. I assume the measurement of 30 weeks is for a singleton. When my OB measured me at 20 weeks he said I was measuring larger than 20 weeks but that was accurate since it's twins.


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## froggyfrog

Fern, my sugar is doing fine, I have had a few days that it's higher, but it hasn't gone above the limit. My fasting sugar is a little higher than I want and I'm hoping they let me keep trying to work on it before they want me to take something. It's so odd, but just a 10 minute walk up and down the street after each meal has drastically brought my post meal numbers down. It's easy enough. And the dogs love the extra walks!

Today is my V-day!!!! I'm so excited to have come this far. I have a scan with the MFM later today to check on the little guy and to see if the placenta has moved. We will also go over my sugar log.


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## Rq120

Yes, the 30 week measurement is if it was a singleton pregnancy. It doesn't mean anything for twins, except I'm gonna be big! LOL


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## 2have4kids

Hi Fern, that's a well deserved staycation! Do enjoy. And enjoy your hospital tour as well. Let us know what you think.

My blood sugars have been great. Always within the lower end of the range and resting is extremely low, my liver isn't working overtime to produce sugar so for now I'm good. I'm sick of testing though so I made a decision to stop last week. They said things change around the 24 week mark so I'll wait a few weeks and start up again. 

DD is sick after playing with all those cute little kids on the weekend. Her first real cold. I feel terrible for her, she's just SO cute with that runny stuffy nose. I wiped it for her last night & gave her saline to clear it. Gave her a warm bath and put the humidifier on with some cold essential oils before bed. She slept like a log, unlike the night before (up aaallll night).


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## Pinkie3

Fern, if I were you I would treat him like a room mate when he returns and take care of yourself and that little boy. Enjoy your week of freedom and do everything that makes you happy. Glad your cousin is coming to the scan with you, sounds like you have plenty of support. 

Froggy, sounds like you are doing a great job on keeping your sugar levels stable. Enjoy your scan today and hope you get some good news regarding your placenta and sugars. Good luck. 

You twin ladies are going to have lovely big bumps, at least it means babies are growing well.

Rebecca, good luck at the scan on Friday.

I don't have my growth scan for another 3 weeks. I am lucky to get that, here we only get one scan at 12 weeks and another at 20 weeks then that's it. Thankfully the consultant booked me in for extra ones because of my history and felt it was needed for reassurance which I am grateful for. I would have definitely booked private ones if not. 

Oh I forgot to tell you, when I had my jabs the other day I got weighed and guess how much weight I have put on? Zero!! So there are definitely some perks with having these food issues. I was a little overweight to start with so I am seeing this as a good thing.

X


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## rebecca822

2have I'm so sorry that LO has a cold. Lucky for you she's made it 12 months without one. My LO got her first cold at 7 days old, it was really scary!

Pinkie I'm so glad you got that extra scan. Wow no weight gain! I gained 20 lbs so far. DH is really nervous that I will gain too much. My mother in law only gained 16 lbs with her twins and they were each 6 and a half pounds.
I was asking her questions yesterday about her twins (how much did you gain, did you go full term, etc.) I hope I was not too obvious and that she doesn't suspect anything.


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## Pinkie3

Sorry 2have, I missed your last post. Sorry LO has a cold, give her lots of warm cuddles. Well done on your sugar levels, that's great news, I hope it stays like that. 

Rebecca, I read that most people put on 10-14lbs by their second trimester so with the twins I say you are on track. Mine is definitely balancing itself out and I still have a long way to go yet, you'll probably start to slow down and I will start putting on :haha:


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## 2have4kids

pinkie well done on not gaining even though it's been a tough time for you. Wouldn't it be nice to come out a few pounds less AND get a prize baby at the end! For me last time I gained a little weight bf-ing as I was not only hungry all the time I could now eat what made me feel so ill before. And carbs didn't bother me. So I'm going to have to be careful after the twins come and get back to the gym sooner rather than later.

Rebecca all the best with your scan Friday. 

My next scan is the 21st. I checked out some SUV's last night. We're def getting a 2017 Kia Sorento. They seem to be the best for 3 small kids (7 seats with actually a comfy 3rd row) and have a nice price tag and the extras are all built in rather than expensive upgrades. Nice quiet smooth ride compared to my little sports car. Prob won't make the purchase until December though, I'd really love to sell my car first.


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> pinkie well done on not gaining even though it's been a tough time for you. Wouldn't it be nice to come out a few pounds less AND get a prize baby at the end! For me last time I gained a little weight bf-ing as I was not only hungry all the time I could now eat what made me feel so ill before. And carbs didn't bother me. So I'm going to have to be careful after the twins come and get back to the gym sooner rather than later.
> 
> Rebecca all the best with your scan Friday.
> 
> My next scan is the 21st. I checked out some SUV's last night. We're def getting a 2017 Kia Sorento. They seem to be the best for 3 small kids (7 seats with actually a comfy 3rd row) and have a nice price tag and the extras are all built in rather than expensive upgrades. Nice quiet smooth ride compared to my little sports car. Prob won't make the purchase until December though, I'd really love to sell my car first.

We have a Toyota Highlander and although it has 7 seats the back row is really tight. Additionally, the trunk space is so small when the back row is being used. We will eventually end up with a sienna minivan but not until after babies are born. My car is a lease and I have 1 year left so if I see that we can make it work for the year we will just manage.


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## froggyfrog

Just got back from my scan, and the placenta still hasn't moved. I go back at 28 weeks to see if it has moved yet, and if it hasn't we will start talking about a scheduled c section at 36 or 37 weeks. My blood sugar levels have been really good and she is happy with them, and baby boy looks great! I will post pics as soon as they email them to me.


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## 2have4kids

Froggy congrats on a great scan but sorry to hear that the placenta still hasn't moved. fx for week 28!
Rebecca my husband likes the Highlander too. But I want ALLLL the upgrades, panorama sunroof, heated seats etc etc etc and we can only afford that in the Sorento (Highlander would be another $20K) We looked at the minivan too but I just can't bring myself to drive one:blush:


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## froggyfrog

I think after the new year I'm going to get the Mazda cx-9. They are really nice.


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## froggyfrog

Here is Mr Gage


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## 2have4kids

Lovely photo Froggy! 

Has anyone been experiencing dramatic hair loss? I get a handful everytime I shower, and when I'm wearing wool it sticks to the back of my cardigans and I've cleaned off a bucket of hair from the back 3 times today. I've started back taking omega 3/6/9 oils and I'm taking lots of iron so I'm not sure what else is causing this.


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## rebecca822

Froggy sorry that placenta hasn't moved yet. I hope you get good news in 4 weeks.
Gage looks super cute, great photo!
Happy to hear you got a good report on your blood sugar.

2have, I got most of the upgrades on the highlander. It's a really expensive lease but I like a nice car :) 
DH just got himself a Lincoln crossover. Although it's a business expense ;)
I'm really not a soccer mom and you can ask anyone I swore I'd never drive a minivan, but after doing carpools you just can't beat the practically.
Especially getting two babies in and out the sliding doors are awesome. 

Friday feels like ages away I'm getting kind of anxious for my appointment. at least I have them every 2 weeks now.
I googled when the earliest stage a baby is viable and it seems like 23-24 weeks although there's a really low chance of survival. I want to be in my third trimester already so I know my babies are out of the woods. Every little ache I worry in going into labor and my babies will be born too soon.
I guess after what I've been through nervous is the only thing I know.


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## Fern81

Aww what a lovely pic froggy!! You can see so much detail! Sorry that the placenta hasn't moved... however I feel better about all our medical issues knowing we are fortunate enough to get good medical care and that they have a plan to safely deliver Gage regardless. Happy v-day!

2have - me!!! Goodness, my hair was falling out in clumps in first trimester. While my body hair grew thicker urgh. It's slowed down but it's still more than I'd like. And then irritatingly enough everything I googled would talk about hair fall stopping in pregnancy, lucious locks etc lol; so no help there! The only thing I can think of is that I might not be meeting 75mg protein every day but I get as close to that as possible & all my other nutrient levels are great. I've had some regrowth starting though (my sister and I call it "baby hair" as she also has a lot of new short hair growing in after having her twins!). I figured that as long as I don't get bald spots it's OK; hope that's the case with you too.


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## Fern81

Good job with staying on track with your weight gain pinkie! Yep if you were overweight you don't have to pick up as much weight and sounds like you are doing nicely considering your nausea issues. Shame you have been through the wringer! I've put on 10 kg already!! (22 pounds) it went really fast in first tri due to my constant insane hunger and has slowed down in second tri. Idk. I had lost a lot of weight in the 3months just prior to ivf and my bmi when I got pregnant was about 19-20. My bmi is still normal even though I weigh 10kg more and am preggies. I've stopped worrying about it so much and am getting used to getting a new unknown body. I'm eating healthy most of the time so that's good enough.

I'm getting so excited for all of us to post on our new babies and sleepless nights & remedies & tips! And of course then we can support each other's post baby weight loss attempts too. :)


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, what a great picture, he looks so peaceful bless him. Glad everything went well and great job with your sugar levels. 

2have, I think it's pretty common for hair to fall out, it either goes one way or another, it definitely happen to friend of mine. I have gone the other way and DH keeps saying I look like a Lion!!

Fern, sounds like you were in the healthy BMI rate, I was bordering the higher for my height (I am only little). To be fair, I can't really complain about my nausea because apart from that my pregnancy is going really well, I decided to focus on all the good things and there is plenty which is making me feel much better. 

2have, we looked at that KIA, it's lovely but a bit big for me at the moment. Perfect for 3 little ones. I hope MacKinley is feeling better.

Rebecca, I know how you feel, I can't help but worry but I do get more confident as each week goes on. I have said that after my 28 week scan then I am going to start buying baby stuff and I going to enjoy every minute of it.

Does anyone private message Myshel? I was just wondering how she is doing? If you do please let her know I still think of her X 

I've had a busy day with MIL, we went curtain and blind shopping, was in the shop for ages, bless our assistant, I got some great samples so hope DH likes them. We also went to a nice place for lunch that had homemade cakes to die for. MIL brought me 4 to bring home, I have already eaten one, DH needs to hurry home because cake is the one thing I don't have trouble eating at the moment :haha:


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## rebecca822

Pinkie I think we will start with shopping around 28 weeks as well. I did research on strollers and car seats but we will go to the baby stores to actually look at them around 28-30 weeks.
I'm also waiting until then to order my breast pump. I will be meeting with a lactation consultant around then as well. She is a Nurse practitioner and certified lactation consultant and accepts my insurance so I can go as often as I need for free! She said For after birth with twins she does house calls too! I'm going to meet with her and she will recommend the best nursing gear for me. 
I don't like to actually buy anything until after the baby/babies are born but I'll have a list of what to order.


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## rebecca822

My week 22 bump.
At 22 weeks with DD I had no hint of a bump!
 



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## froggyfrog

Cute bump rebecca! What time is your scan today?

I saw my OB yesterday, and was advised to go ahead and get my MFM to send over an authorization letter to the scheduler to get a c section scheduled. So I'm waiting to hear back from that. He said we can always cancel it, but this way I have more options on a date and dr. If we can I'm going to choose Dec 30th. that will put me at 36 weeks 2 days. It's a little overwhelming to think that that is only 12 weeks away. By my next appointment I could potentially be 8 weeks away from meeting my son. Scary!!!!


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## Rq120

Rebecca - cute bump. I'm about there or a little bigger. It's funny because I feel like you can tell when the babies are going through growth spurts. It's also funny to watch your bump move, meaning some days it's higher or lower than the day before.

2Have - DH and I have a Kia Sorento. There isn't much space in the back w/ the 3rd row, but we really like it. It is a quiet smooth ride. It will work well with our 4 person family. We bought it a few years used and we don't owe a car payment, so that is nice also.


Looking forward to the weekend, however I am working at the hospital again both Sat and Sun. Worst part is I have to get up at 5:50 am. Yuck. But I'm trying to position us to where we have all medical bills paid off by delivery, so it is a noble cause. DH is off for Columbus Day on Monday so I'm taking the day off too. I think we will go enjoy a hike and some shopping. Everyone enjoy your weekend!


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## rebecca822

Froggy I'm surprised how early they want to schedule the C section 36 weeks seems very early. Exciting how close you are to meeting your little man!! The best part is you get a 2016 baby :)
Good luck I hope you get the date that you want.

My appointment today is at 1:45 which is 4 hours away. 

Rq my bump is always much bigger at night after a whole day of eating and drinking!
Good luck with work this weekend, but good for you for getting it out of the way before the babies arrive.

Lately I've been feeling like I can't breathe after I eat a meal. I feel suffocating like I can't get a good deep breath which causes me to panic. I think it's because my babies are the size of spaghetti squash and are taking up so much of my body! I'm really panicking about this because it's only going to get worse and I'm starting to feel claustrophobic.


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## froggyfrog

The reason they schedule so early is because the placenta can rupture if my cervix tries to dilate. I have decided that if my MFM doesn't see any changes at my 28 week appointment, I'm going to ask about getting a steroid shot to help his lungs develop.


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## rebecca822

Froggy sounds a bit scary! I wonder what my OB will say.


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca, there is still plenty of time for it to move, but I'm one of those plan for the worst kind of people. I would rather be fully prepared for an early arrival!


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, cute bump! Mine has really popped out in the last week and is not far off yours. 

Froggy, wow I can't believe your little man could be here so soon. It's great that everyone is being well prepared.

RQ, I hope work is ok this weekend, good for you for working extra to get yourself straight before babies arrives.

Fern, I hope you are enjoying your time at home. 

2have, I hope MacKinley is feeling better. 

Have a lovely weekend all. I have a friend stopping tomorrow, she lives a 3 hour drive away and I haven't seen her for months so can't wait for a good catch up. X


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## rebecca822

My appointment went well and both babies are great!
They are both breech with their heads together :)
My OB unfortunately told me that he will not allow me to deliver naturally as it is too risky. DD was born via c section and he does not want to risk my uterus rupturing. Im not surpised but I'm a little disappointed.
He is not at all concerned about my low lying placenta and he seems confident that it will move. Either way I'll still be having a c section.
He says unless anything changes it will be scheduled for 38 weeks.


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, great news that both babies are doing well. Sorry to hear your are disappointed with the C section but if that's their professional advice then I suppose you have to go with it. The main thing is both your babies arrive safely. X


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, Pinkie, Mack is finally on the mend-in the last croupy coughy stages of the cold. Congrats on not gaining anything, it'll feel great when you look amazing and have that little baby in your arms!

Fern, enjoy your me time!

Rebecca, sorry to hear about the section, if that's the best plan to keep you & babies healthy I'd follow their advice too!

How is everyone else doing?

Well it snowed here in my city for the first time this winter. Brrr, now I just want to hybernate for the rest of the season! We purchased a Nissan Parhfinder yesterday with all the bells & whistles. It had the most comfy & accessible 3rd row seat of all the SUV's and for the 1st 2 years while the babies are all backwards facing I anticipate one if us having to sit back there durung trips to the mountains to keep the brood happy. All others required one of us to climb into the 3rd row from the back door, over the groceries & stroller...no thanks! So I'm super happy and we got a fantastic deal as they were selling off the dealer test drive cars plus a manufacture discount of $7700:happydance:
Bring on the twins!


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca, glad that the babies are doing so well!!! 

2have congrats on the new car! It's always exciting! 

I don't know that we will do much this weekend. Dh thinks he is going back to work on monday, but I'm not sure he is ready. He is definitely getting cabin fever just sitting around the house. I'm hoping to talk him into going to get his flu shot and tdap today at walgreens, and then we might go see a movie. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!


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## Fern81

Rq- hope work is not too tiring! 

2have - glad your dd is getting better and congrats on the car. That's very exciting :).

Enjoy your friend's visit pinkie!

Froggy is your husband's pain better?

Rebecca- you'll be fine hun :) better safe than sorry!

I'm enjoying being here without H, without constantly worrying what will set him off next. I got some nice things for the nursery at the craft market & my mom bought me a bunch of really comfy and pretty leggings, shirts and two dresses yesterday! I'm so happy especially because I've grown out of most of my clothes, even the large sizes. My bump is SO big. I honestly don't miss H at all and just get angry when I think of how I had to miss a beach holiday (which I really needed before the busy final term of this year) because of him. Urgh. Oh well I need to keep focusing on enjoying my life as much as I can without his love/emotional support and not get totally depressed!! I have a lot of other great people in my life.


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## froggyfrog

Fern I'm glad your enjoying your time, you definitely needed a break and time to yourself. Dh is feeling much better. The old pain is completely gone, he is just still dealing with pain from the surgery.


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## rebecca822

2have enjoy the new car, I think the pathfinder is really nice! Can't believe you already have snow. This is the first year I'm really looking forward to winter. I'm so eager to meet my babies already.

Fern glad you're enjoying your time without husband. I hope things will be better once he returns.

Today was really relaxing, visited my husbands grandparents who live a few blocks away from us. Took an afternoon nap, DD had a play date with a classmate.
Tomorrow I'll do some cooking I like to have food in the freezer to grab and warm on a lazy day.


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## Pinkie3

2have, great news on the car, that is one less thing to worry about. I hope the snow doesn't get too bad. It's a pain but I love it when we do get it! 

Fern, glad you have plenty of people around you who offer support, those are the people you need to surround yourself with. It's you and the boy that are the priority.

Froggy, I hope DH is ok back at work tomorrow. 

My weekend has been nice, food was a bit of an issue again... Boo, but I got through it. Stayed up taking until the early hours with my friend so very tired today and looking forward to an early night. On the pregnancy front, not much to report, I am definitely getting bigger and will need to get a proper pregnancy pillow soon. I am going to get one that I can use for feeding too. X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie I'm so sorry you are still having food issues :(
I still unable to eat 99% of protein. I can eat beans so I try to add them to my foods as much as possible.
Froggy did DH make it back to work?

I slept pretty horribly last night so I'm having a hard time concentrating at work.


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## Rq120

I was off yesterday. Had a nice day with DH and SIL. We went to a little town and walked about the little boutique shops and stopped for a nice lunch. It was a good day and I lasted longer than I thought. I actually didn't tucker out until we were headed back to the car. It was a beautiful day. 

Boo on snow. I'm trying to continue to enjoy the fall weather here. Today's high is 75 degrees.

Today is my "Monday" at work and I am wiped!! I slept well, but I just can't bring myself to get into work. My brain is so foggy and I feel very sleepy. I babies are the opposite of their mommy today. They are going crazy in there and are getting stronger. 

I have another MD appt this Thursday. They will do a quick check-up but I'm going mostly to monitor my cervix. So far, it's been great. After this appt I don't know if they will push back my next appt to 4 weeks, or keep me on an every two week schedule.


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## rebecca822

Rq I would think they would do appointments more often so they can check your cervix as much as possible.
Sorry you're having a tough day at work I felt like that yesterday. 
Glad babies are going wild, such a great feeling. Can you feel the difference between a and b when they're kicking? When it's a very low kick, close to my bladder I know it's A and when it's really high up, like right under my breasts it's B but everything in between confuses me.


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## froggyfrog

I think 2 babies would confuse me because Gage kicks and hits high low and to both sides. He was head down last week so I'm sure it won't be long before I get the kicks in the ribs. At our ultrasound last week he chest bumped the ultrasound tech, it was really funny to see. 

Dh seems to be doing good back to work. He has his Rodman (helper) and is making him do a lot more than usual, so that he doesn't strain himself.


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## rebecca822

I just picked out paint colors for the nursery! See attached picture of the samples. 
We're going to do one accent wall with all three colors and then the grey for the remaining walls.
 



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## Fern81

Sorry I'm being so quiet, I'm really swamped at work. 
Babies moving and kicking is so exciting! 

Froggy I'm happy to hear that your dh is doing well. You must both be so relieved.

Lovely colours Rebecca!!


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## Rq120

I like the colors! So pretty. I'm thinking grey for our nursery too, but I'm not going to set up one right away because we are putting the house for sale in April. We will set up a nursery after we move next spring. 

Rebecca - I can usually tell them apart. A (boy) likes to kick me low also. B (girl) I don't feel as much but when I do it has been a little stronger. I only really get high or low kicks. I think it is related to my two anterior placentas, so it's been easy to tell them apart so far. It's rare when I get a kick in the middle. I definitely feel the boy everyday. The girl moves around a lot (transverse, head down, side to side - she is a crazy lady) and sometimes gets behind her placenta and I don't feel her as much. I love to feel them everyday and I am starting to get their pattern down. For example, the boy is most active in the morning when I get to work. They also like to kick at night right when I lay down. If I lay on my tummy during the night, the girl almost always kicks her displeasure. Lol! The boy LOVES to push against my pelvic bone some days. He will push off and on throughout the afternoon/evening and it really isn't a pleasant feeling. But I'll cherish anything I can get. I'm so blessed even if it doesn't feel good.


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## Pinkie3

Arh you are all so lucky to feel the kicks and know where baby/babies are lying. I am still only getting occasional flutters and they tickle more than anything, damn placenta!! 

Froggy, glad DH got back to work ok and hope he is taking it easy. 

RQ, good news on the cervix, hopefully they will continue with every two weeks to get regular checks. 

Rebecca, nice colours. I am also getting my walls painted a light grey but decided not to decorate until baby arrives, I will wait until we know the sex so I can tailor it around that.

Fern, I hope work isn't too stressful and you are doing ok. 

2have, hope you're well x


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## froggyfrog

Love the choices Rebecca, can't wait to see pics! 

Hope everyone is doing well. 

I can't believe how fast time is flying, I'm 25 weeks today!


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## Rq120

I agree Froggy. It's amazing how fast time is going. I imagine it might move faster during the holidays, but maybe not because we might be a little more miserable then.


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## rebecca822

I feel like time is trickeling by. I'm almost 23 weeks but feel like I've been pregnant for a decade. I just can't wait to meet my babies already!
So happy tomorrow is Thursday I'm really waiting for a relaxing weekend.


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## 2have4kids

Second tri dragged on with my first but this time with having to go back to work, having to host a shower, 2 baby birthday parties (as if 1 wasn't enough work), buy a new vehicle to accommodate, get more car seats, sell my car (this was a huge pain!) it's gone by very very fast. My back is still killing me and now when I sleep my arms have been going numb. It started 3 days ago and I read up that it can be because the root of the ulnar nerve in your neck/upper back is getting squished. Laying on my back was the only way to stop it last night but that just won't be feasible as my belly gets bigger. Has anyone else had this? It goes right down my arm and tingles until I have no sensation in my middle fingers. It's worse with bent elbows.:grr:


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## Fern81

Time has been flying for me from day 1. I wish the pregnancy could go slower so that I could savour it a bit more (and feel more prepared!) But at the same time I'm wishing that work could be done for the year. About 5-6 more weeks. 

2have - yep I get that when I lie on my side. It's very annoying. I wish I could sleep on my back all night but my bump is SO HUGE I think it's definitely going to press on my vena cava. In fact I'm going to ask the dr tomorrow if the baby/amniotic fluid/I am measuring too big. 

How is everyone doing energy/back pain/ food aversion etc wise? :) Rebecca and Pinkie- sorry that you are still struggling to eat!

Froggy how was your husband's first day back?


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## Pinkie3

I think time is flying too, with the holidays coming up I think it will definitely go quicker. Christmas will be here before we know it and then babies will start being born, it's so exciting. I am secretly wishing time away, I love being pregnant, watching my belly grow and feeling the little flutters but I just want my baby to be here now, I can't wait to hold him/her. 

2have, I am the same but it's my hands that go numb, I am not sure what I am doing. Each morning my hands feel so achy and sore. Another thing I am doing while sleeping is snoring!! What is that all about? I never snore so this is definitely a new thing, I have even woken myself up with snorts. 

Fern, apart from my food aversions I feel great so very lucky (although I shouldn't speak too soon). How is everyone else feeling? 

I have another 4 1/2 weeks to go for my next scan, it feels like ages away! 

How is everyone's week going? Mine has been pretty boring, I had to wait in all day for deliveries both on Mon and Tues. Yesterday I turned up for my Aquafit but the class was cancelled last minute and then I got a text this morning saying my yoga tonight has been cancelled too. Gutted! I really look forward to these classes. There is a golf tournament on here tomorrow and we are hoping to go for the day, I hope I can manage to walk the 18 holes. 

X


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## Rq120

For the most part, I am feeling really well so far. No back pain or hip pain. Some days I feel some minor discomforts, but they don't last very long. I'm very grateful because there are some with singleton pregnancies that are already hurting. Last night I woke with some pain in my lower belly. I'm guess maybe round ligament pain or something like that. It sucked but only last like an hour and went away. Babies are kicking away this morning. 

DH REALLY got to feel baby girl last night. We went to a movie and she started kicking so I put his hand on my belly. He was really warm so I think she reacted to the heat and started kicking like crazy. She really gave him a show and he was blown away. He has felt her kick before, but just a little kick here or there. His face lighting up was so cute! 

Anyone more emotional lately? I didn't have many hormonal issues early on, but lately I noticed I'm a bit weepy at times. That is so unlike me!

2Have - as far as the arms going numb, many of my friends had to sleep sitting up (like in a recliner) their last trimester because of this reason. 

Fern - I feel huge too. LOL


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## rebecca822

Sorry you guys are so uncomfortable! Thankfully I'm not experiencing much in the way of physical pain. 
I'm having some insomnia lately which is making my work days difficult.
DH has not yet felt the babies from the outside but I'm sure he'll feel them soon because they are getting much easier to feel. 
I have a huge weekend coming up, which I'm kind of annoyed about. DH invited company for the weekend which means me cooking two Thanksgiving meals for our guests. DH is really good with helping to cook but the cleaning and set up is all on me. I was hoping for a quiet weekend but I guess not...
After work I need to shop and start cooking and tomorrow I'm working a full day so I'll be up very late tonight cooking. Ughhh


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## Rq120

Just got back from the doc's office. The babies looked great on the ultrasound. They both weighed 1lb and 7 oz and measuring 3-4 days ahead. My OB said my cervix was solid as a rock. LOL. My next appt is in 4 weeks. Then I will get an ultrasound to monitor growth, vaccinations, glucose screen, and a Rhogam shot for my blood type. So happy for good news!


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## Rq120

Oh and I asked my OB about the low pain I was experiencing last night and she said she thinks it is either ligament pain or deferred pain from my inner thigh muscles. She said she didn't think it was anything to worry about based on description and the ultrasound results.


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## froggyfrog

Here is my bump pic. I'm currently laying in bed because I started spotting. It has only happened twice. I called in and the nurse told me not to worry and call back if it turns to bleeding. My mom is a l&d nurse and is telling me that I should just go into l&d. I think if it keeps up I may make a trip up there. I just feel weird going since the nurse thinks I'm fine. I know that placenta previa can cause spotting and bleeding.


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## rebecca822

Rq I'm happy to hear that everything is good with your babies. 

Froggy if it would make you feel better to go to l&d than definitely go but I'm sure your nurse is right that it's probably nothing.

I'm in a grouchy mood for no reason! I just yelled at DH for doing nothing wrong.


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## 2have4kids

Froggy lovely bump!! Sorry to hear about the spotting, that kind of stress is the last thing you need now.

Rebecca all the best with the cooking & happy Thanksgiving. We had dinner at a friends house last Sunday and Monday was the family dinner. It's alot to do when you're pregnant never mind with a child to mind.

Pinkie I laughed at the waking yourself up with snorts. DH has said I've been snoring too. I don't know what it is but with any weight gain I snore. DH has gained at least 30 lbs since I met him and he now snores. After this pregnancy I'm sure it'll go back to normal but I wish they knew what that's all about. I think snoring contributes to crappy sleeps, for both partners.

Fern I'm glad you're enjoying your pregnancy to this extent despite the shitpants DH has been. It's important to not let others ruin your experience and you sound like you're strong enough to still keep that sacred.

RQ I had wicked crampy sharp pains in my lower right the other night. I think mine had to do with the placenta stretching but there are so many reasons. 

Hi to everyone, I hope you're doing well!

It's been a stupidly busy week. We had all those dinners last week and it was nice to catch up with friends & family and bought the suv, sold my car today after a million and one test drives with young obnoxious men that are only interested in low ball offers after they waste your time. I NEVER want to have to sell another vehicle! In the end we sold it to a lovely family who were after a car for their son. They made a reasonable offer.
Saturday we host DD's group birthday so baked the cake & will try fondant-style decorating it tomorrow. It's a potluck party with secret santa gifts so should be fun. Just looking forward to seeing how much progress all the babies have made:bunny:


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## elliecain

You look lovely, Froggy. 
I'd go to L&D. I had spotting a couple of weeks ago and went to A&E. it was fine, but put my mind kind at ease.


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## rebecca822

Froggy how's the spotting?

2have it's just thanksgiving style (ie lots of food!) it's just for a friends and family. Did a lot of cooking last night but I need to finish up today after work.

Ellicain when is your gender scan??


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## froggyfrog

Thanks ladies, spotting stopped yesterday, but I'm still taking it easy. Don't feel comfortable resuming my regular tasks yet. I may go to the post office this afternoon to mail my mom's birthday present, and that may be my day other than laying around. I think if it holds off then tomorrow I will get back to normal.


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## froggyfrog

I hope your mood has lightened Rebecca. I find myself getting grouchy for no real reason too. 

2have, sounds like things have been busy!


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## Pinkie3

RQ, glad everything looked well with both babies. And yes I am emotional at the moment, the slightest thing makes me weep. 

Froggy, nice photo, you are all bump! Sorry about the spotting, take it easy and if you feel worried at any point definitely head into L&D.

Rebecca, I hope the mood improves. Although I would be a bit grumpy if DH sprung cooking on me, the cheeky so and so. Sounds like you have everything under control and I am sure you will have a lovely time. Leave him with the clearing up. 

2have, sounds like a busy week. Glad you got the car sold in the end, it's always such a nightmare with time wasters. Enjoy the joint party tomorrow, I hope all the kids have a fun. I looked up snoring and apparently it's quite common in pregnancy due to swelling in the nasal passage. I haven't put any weight on yet so I will mention it to my midwife at my next appointment just in case it's linked to anything else? 

Fern, I hope you're doing ok? 

I feel really tired today, I slept in which has made me feel worse so having a lazy day.

X


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## elliecain

My gender scan is on 25th, so just 10.5 days to wait now!!!


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## Fern81

Aaaww Ellie I'm so excited for you! I'm still betting "girl" based on that nub pic. ;)

Froggy- glad to hear the spotting has stopped. You look adorable. It's good that you can just take things easy with your placental complications. 

Rq- glad to hear your babies are doing well and are so strong!

Rebecca - gl with the thanksgiving meals!! Whoo that sounds like a lot of work. Wish I could join you for dinner lol. I would be grouchy with so much work, too...

2have - enjoy the second party! Hope you have as much fun as at the first one :).

Pinkie - enjoy your lazy day. Hope you don't have to work or do much this weekend, rest up!

We don't have thanksgiving obviously but both my & dh's birthdays are at the end of the year AND I suspect my surprise baby shower will be at the end of Nov when I'm around 30 weeks. :) can't wait! We make quite a fuss with baby showers. Games & cake & lots of gifts etc. My sister has been planning it since we started ivf! Does anyone else have plans for a shower?

So I had another scan and got a few more gorgeous 3d pics of his face. Sooo in love. Dr says I'm not too big (still in normal limits!) And don't have to do the glucose tests. I'm a bit worried because the cord is always in the same position under his left leg & twisted over his left shoulder (I'm worried it's impeding his movement ) but dr says it's ok. Also had the labour ward tour... meh. 
2 patients per room after delivery with babies sleeping in & nurses & husbands & other visitors in and out; so no privacy. 
Delivery room looks old but clean; no tv, nothing special just lots of medical machines and a ball to sit on. Honestly it looks more shabby than I thought it would; it's in a very posh neighbourhood?? Anyway the administrator who showed me around said that 90% of their patients choose elective c-sections, maybe that's why the delivery rooms have not been upgraded in the past decade. I'm a bit sad that that's the first room my baby will see! I might take a cd player or ipad & some nice calming music to play during labour & delivery. I'm starting to wish for a home birth but I'm wayyy too scared to go without an epidural lol!!


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## Fern81

Oh and it's v-day :) so thankful!


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## Rq120

Quick hello. I have had a crazy day at work and I don't feel like writing much. Hope everyone has a good weekend. Tomorrow DH and I are taking a 7 hour class at the hospital covering labor, newborn care, and breastfeeding.


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## rebecca822

Fern sounds a bit disappointing to give birth in that environment. Definitely bring along music to change the mood.

2have, 7 hours!! Yikes! Good luck tomorrow!

I'm all done cooking, my legs are throbbing!! DH just has to sweep and wash the floors and grill the chicken. 
House smells scrumptious, I'm ready to party! Resting up a bit before they arrive in 2 hours.


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## Fern81

How was your party 2have? And your dinner rebecca? 

Rq hope you enjoyed your class! We also have a 7hr class with lunch on the 19th of nov. So looking forward to it. :)

I'm loving my Grey's anatomy marathon weekends. Lol I'm up to season 6 already! I was thinking if I could manage it, I could keep a season or two to watch in the hospital... it's on my laptop and I have ear phones. But probably not!


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## rebecca822

Everything worked out really well. Food was yummy and company was nice.

Fern I'm up to date on Greys anatomy, my favorite show :)


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## Pinkie3

Fern, sorry your hospital was disappointing, the main thing is the care they provide but I think taking some nice things with you to make you more comfortable is a good idea. I really need to book my hospital tour! It's nice your sister has organised a baby shower for you. We don't do them here in the UK although it's starting to be a trend. 

I love a good box set and not seen Grey anatomy, I will put that on my list. Anyone into The Walking Dead? New season starts next week and I can't wait. 

Froogy, how has the spotting been the last few days?

Rebecca, glad everything went well with the cooking and you enjoyed yourself. I hope DH rubbed those feet at the end of the day.

RQ, I hope you enjoyed your class. We are booked on similar ones end of Nov, I paid for the full course so we get 16 hours over 3 days and I am really looking forward to them. 

It's Sunday morning here I was up super early waiting for a delivery. The weather is horrendous so I have no idea what to do with my day now. Maybe I could start grey anatomy. Have a good day ladies X


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## elliecain

Pinkie, is your course with NCT? I'm going to go to the free NHS ones, but I've also paid for an NCT course, in January and February. Mine is 13 hours over 9 sessions and then an antenatal meet once all the babies have been born. 

I'm really looking forward to it. I'm a bit older and a professional and I'm worried that the NHS ones will be huge classes of young, non working mums and I will find it hard to have much in common. My friends have all stayed in touch with the mums they met through NCT classes.


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## Pinkie3

Ellie, lol, that's one of the reasons I am not so keen to attend the NHS ones. But I think the hospital tour and antenatal class are one session. Yes I have booked on the NCT classes, I have heard great things about them and I hope I get to meet other mums. X


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, froggy how's the bleeding been? I hope it's all over now, you don't need that kind of stress.

I haven't watched grey's anatomy but I've watched soooo many other great series on Netflix. I have to see if the new season of Doc Martin is up yet. We're watching The Good Wife, House of Cards, and Pinkie I need to catch up on the walking dead. 

Fern sorry to hear about the hospital setting. It's such a short amount if time that you're in there...half will be a big blur because you'll be in SO much pain (at least it was a blur for me anyway) and the other half you'll be trying to feed your baby. Just ensure that DH or a gf can be there night or day when you deliver. I had a friend in the UK who delivered and after 11pm and due to their visiting hours policy, she wasn't allowed her DH in with her, that would be horrifying to me!

The group birthday party was fantastic. We had 9 couples snd their wee ones over. It was nice to see how each is progressing & DD loved playing with kids her own age. There was sooo much food and I asked them to take their food home but they didn't. So I need to make soup & freeze it!


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## Rq120

Glad all the parties/dinners went well. 

Our class was good. The first half was on labor/delivery. The second half covered newborn care and breastfeeding. It was helpful, although not earth shattering. We are attending a multiples class next week after work. Hopefully we will learn some things to help. 

Half my weekend was taken up by class. We went to a festival yesterday, but it was non-stop rain. Even with umbrellas, we didn't stay long. Everyone was huddled under tents and it was really hard to get in and out of areas to view anything. When we got home, I settled into the couch with a body pillow and took a nap. I was having a really good nap until my dog decided he wanted to join me and woke me up. Then I had to pee and couldn't get settled back down.

Today, a roofing company came over first thing and started to put on a new roof. They should have the whole house roofed by mid afternoon. Amazing how fast they can get that stuff done! This week my mother in law is visiting from Florida. My sister-in-law is getting a divorce and we weren't sure if she was going to have to go to court this week. My MIL came up just in case to offer support.


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## Rq120

I hit 24 weeks this weekend. Hard to believe I am "6 month pregnant". With twins I am due in 3 months! Crazy to think about.


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## 2have4kids

RQ you're life sounds very busy, I can relate to so much you said in your last few posts! Congrats on the 6 month date with twins, time is flying by. Are you guys keeping in touch with your birthing class? We just hosted the group birthday for those couples and it was SO interesting to see how each baby has progressed. MacKinley is working on her 7th tooth now and some babies still don't have any. One little boy had already been for 3 haircuts lol. MacKinley is almost ready for her first. Only maybe 3 babies were walking out of 9 at 1 year old. It'll be interesting to see how our twins do and if one will grow faster than the other.

Well we managed to sell my car last week, I never want to sell another car for a very very long time. What made it worse it that we had to give test drives to countless young punks because of the kind of car it is, it seems to attract a certain genre of buyer, especially second hand. Both DH and I had at least 1 young crazy each who floored the gas going into a local intersection and nearly made us poop our pants They would then low ball us on the car and get all upset when they didn't achieve a sale (OMG it was painful) So DH just stopped letting people drive it, he would drive when he took them for a spin and I sold the car after my terrible experience to the next person who came to see it. It was a lovely couple helping their 18 year old son buy his first car and he had his heart set on this car. I drove with the dad who was very calm and collected, he made a good offer and I was happy to see it leave my property and take the ad down! They later texted me telling me their son was ecstatic, SOOO excited and absolutely loves his new car - from shaking with fear and nervous energy and feeling deflated with another low ball offer to feeling fantastic within hours. I was completely worn out after that.

Today after work I'm going pick up our new 7 seater SUV (we decided on the Nissan Pathfinder) and the silver lining is that the insurance is lower on this new car compared to my 10 year old Acura RSX type S, apparently because of the type of vehicle it is (and the demographic that likes to buy each). There's loads of room for the kids to have all three car seats together in the middle row and easy access for an adult to the third row (with the car seats in). I think one of us will be in that third row for any drives longer than 25 minutes as DD always seems to fuss and need snacks, drinks, toys or something to be entertained. With three it might be easier for them to entertain themselves, we'll see! My favourite part is hopping up into the captains chair to drive it rather than down low and then peeling myself out. I'm obviously too old for that stuff now


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## elliecain

Congrats on viability Rq!


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## froggyfrog

Happy V-Day rq! I hope you enjoy your visit with your mil! 

Fern, I hope the experience and the staff can over compensate for the fact that the facility isn't so nice. 

Rebecca glad all went well with the dinners!!

2have I hope you enjoy your new car! 

I hope you enjoyed your next fix day pinkie!

I haven't had anymore spotting, thank you Jesus. It really stressed me out. I took 4 days off from going for my walks just to let myself rest. I have been soooo tired lately, like first tri tired. And I think it's affecting my fasting glucose levels. They have been a few points higher than the recommended. I sent my levels into the MFM this morning, so I'm curious to see what they say. It isn't horribly high, only about 3 it 4 points, and my post meal numbers are still great. Anyone else get a sore baby bump? It was so hard to get up and down last night to pee, and try to switch positions in the middle of the night because my bump is really sore. I guess it's growing. 

I'm having a small baby shower on November 19th with maybe 4 or 5 people and I'm super excited. I didn't think i was going to have a shower! Anyone else know when they will have a shower?

Hope you all had a good weekend!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy glad to hear you're not spotting anymore, sorry to hear about your tiredness and higher glucose levels. I read that my numb arms are from higher glucose levels. How they explained how diabetes affects us is that glucose makes superglue out of your tendons causing them to have much friction when they should normally slide smoothly across one and other and this can cause nerve pain. It's most common outcome is carpal tunnel syndrome or like what I think I have cubital tunnel syndrome (cubital spans from the root of the nerve in the neck down to the fingertips). Hopefully you don't get any of this but do keep a look out. It'll go away when your pregnancy ends. They say that carpal tunnel can be a precursor indication that you'll get diabetes later on, I hope none of us gets that!


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## Pinkie3

RQ, glad the class went well and you found it useful.

2have, enjoy your new car, it sounds perfect for the kids. Our search has come to a halt but we need to get back on it before DH starts his new job next month, otherwise I am going to have start getting up super early to drop him at the station. It's not too bad while I am still pregnant but when baby comes that is not going to be practical. Glad the party went well it must have been lovely to see all the little ones again. I am sure MacKinley slept well that night.

Froggy, so glad the spotting has stop, even though its nothing to worry about i can imagine it's very stressful. Hope that is the last of it now. I hope your glucose levels stabilise too. I don't have a sore bump but still get achy hips, my pregnancy pillow is helping. It might be your bump stretching that is causing it to be uncomfortable. Keep it well moisturised so it doesn't get too dry and sore. 

Anyone noticed a change in their skin? My face is as clear as it's ever been but I have noticed I have developed a few skin tags on my body. I have a couple of my stomach, under my boobs, chest and neck. Or they feel like moles/freckles that have started to raise, they were definitely not there before. 

It's DH birthday today and we are going out for dinner tonight with some of his family. I really hope I can manage to order and eat something. I have good days and bad days so really hoping today is a good one. 

I have been feeling lots more movement from baby in the last week (finally!! there must be some cushion in there). It's been so nice, everytime I get movement I talk to my bump telling it what a good boy or girl they are being for letting mummy know they are ok.

How is everyone else doing? X


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## froggyfrog

Pinkie I haven't noticed any difference in my skin. Yay for feeling baby more! Have fun with dh. My dh has a birthday on Saturday. 

I hit double digits ladies! 99 days until my guy is due.


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## 2have4kids

Ohhhh double digits are exciting Froggy! Have fun with the baby shower. We normally just do meet n greets for the babies and request no gifts but everyone brought gifts for MacKinley last time and they threw me a surprise shower at work. I'm not expecting anything this time, we'll do a meet n greet again and request again no gifts. 
Pinkie glad you're able to feel more movements, it's really very reassuring isn't it? I have only super clear skin to thank every pregnancy. No other issues really. All the best with the search, getting up early when you've been up all night with a newborn would NOT be fun:nope:
How's everyone else doing?


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## Rq120

2have - my life has been busy this month. We like to do a lot in the fall and with working extra at the hospital, I have been busy most days. Thankfully next month and December will calm down. We hope to get all the baby stuff ready during those months. Yay on your car. I'm glad you got everything worked out.

Froggy - I'm so glad the spotting stopped! I'm tired off and on some days also. And YES my bump gets sore. Usually lower is where I feel it. I am sore a few days then it goes away and then I'm sore again. I think it is kinda like growth spurts. 
My SIL and best friend are throwing me a shower on Nov 5th. It will be a bigger one but we have a lot of family. They are keeping the theme a lot of secrets so I helped with the guest list and I'll help with the food but everything else is a surprise.


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## rebecca822

Just dropping in to say hi. Things have been a bit hectic. 
Thankfully I'm doing well and looking forward to my appointment Friday. Almost 24 weeks :)


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## elliecain

We don't really do baby showers. people often give you gifts once the baby has arrived, but you don't have a party as such. The first proper party for the baby is the christening.
I'm nearly 19 weeks and it's only 6 days until my anomaly scan. I hope Bee behaves and we get a good view of the gender. I'm so excited to see my baby again, especially as I've been feeling some proper flutters over the past few days.


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## Rq120

That's exciting Ellie. It will be a long 6 days. lol

This week has felt like the longest week ever!! My MIL is visiting so this am I decided to take Friday off to spend the day with her. Hopefully that will help make today and tomorrow go faster.


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## froggyfrog

Glad you took a day off rq! Enjoy it! 

Ellie I hope it goes by fast for you, and that you get a good potty shot! 

Omg, me and dh haven't dtd in 6 weeks! It's driving me mad!!! We have never gone without for more than a week! I really hope this placenta moves soon so we can have some intamacy before all of the hustle and bustle after baby gets here!


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## 2have4kids

Ellie roll on the next scan and remember not to have any caffeine beforehand! I had a coffee at 8am with my first before the 12 week scan and even at noon the poor thing was doing flips and the sonographer was pulling her hair out trying to get clear shots. 

RQ enjoy your day with the mil.

Rebecca gl with your appt on Friday!

Froggy, yes, another 4-6 weeks after birth to allow you to heal. This will really test both of your patience lol. 

How's everyone else doing? Fern you OK? 

My arm is killing me today, I've got a doc's appt at the end of day. I called my GP as I didn't want to wait til Thurs next week for the OB. My GP used to be an OB anyway so she should know what can help me with this, please say there's something that can stop the pain & numbing! DD was up multiple times last night raging with fever and sore mouth. She has her second cold in 3 weeks and a molar and bottom front tooth coming in. I felt soooo bad for her. DH was up most of the night tending to her. I'm shattered as I wake up too when we hear her on the monitor. It's tough when you can do much for them other than give them baby pain killer and a cold cloth!


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## Fern81

Just a quick hi; soooo busy at work! I'm reading along and loving everyone's milestone updates, just don't have a lot of time to post. 

2have - sorry about your poor dd! It's the worst when babies get sick and they don't understand what is going on with them :( hope she gets better soon!

Aahh Froggy the joys of pregnancy :/ gl girl!

Hi to everyone else xx


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## Pinkie3

Ellie, best of luck with your scan, it's such an exciting one, hope you get the perfect gender shot. 

RQ, enjoy time with the MIL.

Froggy, oh dear, why is it the things we can't have make us want it even more. I hope that placenta move so you can get some much needed action. I have a different kind of problem, I have trouble getting DH to do the deed, he is really paranoid about it, I keep telling him not to flatter himself he isn't going to hurt the baby but he finds it weird. Anyone else have this problem? 

2have, sounds like it's being a tough week. How did your appointment go? Do you have a support bandage you can wear on your arm that might help? Poor DD, sounds like she is a little poorly at the moment, it's horrible because they don't understand what is wrong, bless her, I hope she feels better soon and you manage to all get some sleep.

Rebecca, hope things have calmed down and best of luck with scan on Friday. 

Fern, how are you? 

I have a busy few days coming up. Got my hair appointment today that takes hours! Its funny because I need to work out when my next one will be before baby arrives, scary. My hairdresser advised leaving it as late as possible so two weeks before. Yikes! I need to go the supermarket this afternoon as we have family coming this weekend and my yoga class tonight. Tomorrow, we have our decorator coming to do some painting but I also need to get beds ready etc. I have my sister, BIL and nephews are coming up as they are kindly doing lots of jobs for me, my nephew is an electrician and he is putting up all my new lights and BIL is hanging my mirrors, putting my flat packs together etc, I can't wait, it's going to look fab. Once all that is done and my 28 week comes around then I will crack on with baby stuff, I can't wait. 

Right I need to get on with my day so have a good one ladies, catch up later xx


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## rebecca822

Having trouble sleeping... again.
Pinkie sounds like you've got a lot going on with your home. So nice you've got family that will help out.
My plan is to paint my third bedroom in the next few weeks. As of now it's a spare room so I need to clear it out. There's an ellepitical machine and clothes in there that all need to get moved. We also have 2 beds in there for guests and I have no idea where to put those beds. 
2have I'm sorry about DD it's so tough when the kiddie are sick. Hope she gets better quickly.


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## Rq120

Pinkie - busy girl. But sounds like it will be worth it.

2Have - I hope both you and your daughter get to feeling better.

Rebecca - I also have a third bedroom to clean out for the babies. And I have tons of hand me down clothes that I have to wash and sort. I am busy and working a lot on the weekends for the next month. I hope to start on the baby stuff in a month after my baby shower. 

I got a newborn photographer booked today. One thing that I wanted was to get professional photographs of babies when they are newborns. I was hard to find both a good and affordable one, but I found a photographer that has been doing newborns for > 6 years, 15 mins away from home, and I love her style. I can check that off my to do list!


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## rebecca822

Rq a newborn photographer is on my list too. I've seen adorable newborn shots and I can't wait to get some of the babies. I really don't know of any in my area how will I find one?
With DD there was a company that came to the hospital and took photos so I ordered one.
This time I want to have DD in some of the pictures with the babies, I've seen really really cute pictures so I have some ideas.
I think I'm going to get started on the bedroom clean out tonight as it's started getting me nervous. Also, we are moving the baby dresser from DD room to the baby nursery so I need to get DD a new dresser. The dresser in her room now has a changing table on top so it's great for babies.


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## 2have4kids

Oh Fern & Pinkie you two sound like busy bees, do take time to relax a little and enjoy. 

Rebecca sorry you're having problems sleeping again. Just know there's only 3-3.5 more months of this torture. I too was up almost every hour, if DD wasn't crying I'd wake with completely numb throbbing arms. I got in late to work this morning and it seemed like no one even noticed (there's a silver lining at every bump). But I am operating like a flippin zombie. I haven't had coffee in nearly 6 months and got a half caff starbucks on my way to work:haha: I'll put up with next to anything to be pregnant and have a family. Pat yourself on the back for getting through it all!

RQ & Rebecca, those newborn pics will bring you warm fuzzies as long as you live. It's a fleeting moment, there's apparently 10 days when newborns are still with rounded backs, sleeping all the time and really pliable. We found our photographer at work, they do employee profiles and this lady we hired works in HR, has 3 boys of her own, and has won multiple local & international photography awards. She did 3 sessions for us, a free extra underwater session and an outdoor mountain maternity session, and then a newborn session. Her maternity/newborn package with all digitals (I always ensure we get digitals for reprints and making coffee-table books <-which DH loves to do) was $700, quite reasonable for 3 sessions and our right to own the originals. This time we're just going to do the newborn session. Last time we had her over on day 3 after MacKinley's birth. She asked us to crank the heat in the house and it worked great, baby slept through 95% of it and wasn't irritated with so many naked/scantily clad shots. I wish you the best finding your photographer Rebecca! Will you ladies do maternity shots too?

Hi to everyone else, I hope you're all sliding out of the workweek and into a relaxing weekend xx


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## rebecca822

2have I will not be doing a maternity shot. I'll just be feeling huge and whale like and I don't want any reminders of that!! I found someone who is highly recommended by friends and her fee begins at $385. I'm certain she has an upcharge for twins. Ughh didn't want to spend that much!
I'm going to look for someone a bit cheaper. truthfully you just need 2-3 nice shots and since I have a few ideas of my own I'm sure a more mediocre level photographer will do just fine. 

How's everyone doing on the weigh gain? So far I'm at 20 lbs which I'm pleased about. I was the same for the past 2 weeks. With another 14 weeks remaining I'll be just fine even if I gain 1 lb a week.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - I did a general google search of newborn photographers in my area, but it was really overwhelming and a lot were pricey ($450-750 for 1 session). Whenever I see friends post family pics on facebook I look into the photgrapher's page and see if I like her style. If I do, I follow their page. The photographer I booked was one that I had previously liked on facebook. Still, it took some research to decide. Her newborn fee is $300 and that doesn't change for twins. It is a 2-3 hour session including family shots and I get a cd/flash drive of edited photos with a print release. Also, an online gallery for my family/friends. She was very reasonable and super responsive. 

I'm not doing a professional maternity session, but I will go out with my sister in law and take some maternity shots in the next few weeks. She isn't a professional, but she is good with the camera and I'll at least have some maternity photographs as keepsakes.

As far as weight gain, I have no idea!! LOL My RE didn't weigh me so I don't really have a good starting point. I have only gained 17lbs since starting with my OB, however I didn't start seeing an OB until week 12 and I know I packed on a few lbs from fertility treatments and stress before I started with the OB. I would say I'm prob up 40lbs since the beginning of the year, but who knows how much is pregnancy and how much was dealing with pain/stress from my endometriosis.


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## froggyfrog

We are getting a new camera for christmas, either a Canon or a nikon, so I'm going to attempt my own newborn photos. They run about 500ish but I figured it will be worth it to be able to take semi professional shots by myself. I'm doing a maternity shoot with a friends daughter. She does really well with taking photos and has won different photography contests. I'm not sure what she is going to charge yet, but I'm sure it won't be much. 

At 20 weeks I had gained 12 lbs, and now I have lost 7 lbs and just maintained a 5lb gain. It's this GD diet I'm on. I have always been super responsive to dieting and lose fast when I cut out junk. I was already up around 20 lbs from what I should be for my height pre bfp. The Dr's aren't worried at all as long as baby is growing and happy they say it's ok. I look at it as I'll be beach ready next summer! We were invited to go on a long weekend with some friends and I'll be able to feel great about myself knowing I had a baby 6 months prior!


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## 2have4kids

Well I'm hoping to not spend too much this time with only the 1 newborn session. I guess I should ask her soon what the charge is. 
I weighed over the weekend and am up 15 pounds. With GD it's been good keeping the sugar out of my diet. I feel skinnier in the arms and legs but much less muscle mass since I don't work out as much. 
My doctor recommended chiro for my numb arms and confirmed that my ulnar nerve is getting pinched somewhere. I went for a deep tissue massage today and it was great. I'm not a chiro believer but I'll try out her referral. Everytime I've been to a chiropracter they want to sell me vitamins, and all sorts of bunk, and the charges are astronomical for a 3 minute back crack:wacko:
Has anyone got plans this weekend?


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## froggyfrog

A massage sounds magnificent 2have! I hope it brings you some relief. 

Saturday is dhs birthday. I got him a new hat, and a Leatherman tool that I had engraved with his name on one side and world's best dad on the other side. I ordered him a cake that I will go pick up Saturday morning, and I'll be making a big breakfast. He has been wanting some waffles for a long time, so I'll make some waffles eggs and sausage links. And then we will go out that night to a movie, and then eat at outback steakhouse. And then Sunday we will do nothing!


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## rebecca822

Everyone sounds like they're doing great in the weight department. 
I'm not jealous of your GD, froggy but it would be nice to be thinner after giving birth than before :)
Sounds like some nice birthday plans for dh I hope you guys have a great birthday weekend!

We're not doing much this weekend, I may need to catch up on some work.

My appointment is in the afternoon and I'm eager to see my babies again.
24 weeks for me today!! Only 14 to go...!
 



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## rebecca822

Update: ultrasound was goodand babies are both head down although I'm still having a c section regardless.
My doctor had a delivery at the hospital so I ended up not seeing him and only having the ultrasound.


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## Fern81

Just quickly popping in- glad to see your u/s went well Rebecca! 

Will update a bit more tomorrow. Zzzzzzzz


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, great news on the scan, glad both babies are still doing well. Cute bump, you are all baby! 

Froggy, I hope DH has a nice birthday weekend. Enjoy. 

I haven't even thought of a newborn photo session, I might have a look into it. Once baby is born I have told myself we will start making lots of memories, I have a lot of empty photo frames at home as unfortunately we haven't made many over the last 5 years and next year I want to fill them all. 

As for weight, I am not sure what I have gained, I hadn't gained any a few weeks ago but now my eating is getting better I am sure that has changed. I have my 25 week midwife appointment on Tuesday so going to ask her to weigh me then.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend I probably won't be able to catch up for a couple of days so have a good one X


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## Fern81

Hi everyone! 

Hope you all have a nice weekend. We're carrying on with renovations. ... I'm hoping that we can get most of it done before end Nov so that I can start washing all my second hand baby stuff & furniture and get the room ready! We still need to finish installing his cupboard, get a loose carpet for the floor (our lower level bedrooms get very cold in the winter) and wash & move ALLLLL the furniture back into the rest of the house after renovating because at the moment everything is crammed into the 2 spare bedrooms (one which is to be the nursery) and my office/classroom! My husband "fired" the contractor... long story but he messed up a lot. And now we will just do most of the work ourselves with the help of casual labour. 

2have how are the arms? I get that too, even before pregnancy. If I sleep on my side then the arm on top goes NUMB I think it's due to me always having really tense shoulders & pinching nerves. Worse now in pregnancy but a good massage helps!

Pinkie- enjoy your guests and getting all your new decor set up!

Wow froggy good job on the weight gain and sticking to the diet. I'm up 23 freaking pounds already!!! :( really don't know why as I'm eating really healthy 95% of the time. My legs and arms are still thin but my stomach looks like I'm carrying triplets. My weight/bmi was on the very low end of normal due to losing a lot before ivf but I don't want to pick up so much and struggle to lose it afterward urgh... every time I even try to eat less carbs (I eat at least 1 bowl of oats and 2-3 slices of whole grain, seeded bread per day), I get really faint so I can't eat less. My husband says I'm being ridiculous. But I'm sure you all might understand the feeling of loving the pregnancy but not loving the body expanding out of your control. I'm going to try to at least cut out sugar for a month now, that's all I can do.

Only 3 more weeks of work madness & then work will slow down again. Yay for almost being on leave!!


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## Fern81

Oh and happy dh birthday Froggy! Hope you guys have a great weekend :) xx


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## rebecca822

Fern I hope things go back to normal soon with the renovations. 
I gained quite a lot when I was pregnant with dd, I think about 45 pounds. It comes off quicker than you would think. I don't recall struggling with losing it after.


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## Fern81

Hi ladies I hope you all have a nice week! 

Ellie- so excited for your upcoming scan. X

Nimbec- are you also having a gender scan done?


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## Rq120

Hi everyone. Hope all is well. 

I had a good day off with my MIL and family Friday. We went to a festival and it was a beautiful fall day. I worked Sat and Sun. A bit tiring, but the shifts were good. Yesterday I came home and managed to clean out the fridge and get all the laundry done. I was a bit tired at the end of the night and had trouble getting comfy in bed (back muscles were tired and belly was "pulling"). I'm still a bit tired today and started out with a headache, but I'm making it. 

After work, I'm meeting a lady from a twins group on facebook. I'm buying a twin breastfeeding pillow from her. It is the My Breast Friend twins pillow for $10. Figured it would be nice to save a little money. Then Wednesday evening, DH and I are attending a twins class at the local hospital (4 hours long!!). It will be a long week, but thankfully we don't have any plans this weekend and I can get caught up on some much needed rest after my busy month if I can just make it until Friday.

Ellie - only a few more days until your scan. Yay!


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## 2have4kids

RQ I hope you like your bf-ing pillow. I had the breadt friends singleton pillow and didn't like it. I sold it a few weeks after DD was born. They are one of the best rayed pillows but I preferred the really soft cushy pillows rather than the firmness of the breast friend one. You'll have to let me know what you think when you start using it. 

Fern, glad to hear your DH did what he should have done right from the get-go and fired that contractor. Roll on mat leave! I can't believe it's so soon for you! Lucky lady!

Pinkie I have the same problem as you. We bought simple white frames of all different shapes and sizes and planned out a lovely wall composition for the dining room a while back but so far the frames are just sitting in the office waiting to be filled. I'd really like to put a mix of family, friends and baby images in them but realized we barely have any friend group get together shots. So we've been working on taking more during this past year. We might as well wait till the twins arrive so we don't need to update them too soon. 

DD has been absolutely miserable this past week. We're lucky if we get 4 hours of sleep every night and she's barely able to sleep during the day too. She's all stuffed up from her cold but I felt around in her mouth and she's got 2 molars and one front lower incisor coming in the bottom all at once. She's been in so much pain. She'll be happily playing one second and then burst out in tears and hollering in pain. I'm on the verge of getting a cold with scratchy throat and DH is exhausted. This week has truly scared the snot out of me. How are we going to do this with 3 kids under 2! What if one or both of us were to get really sick. I think 3 infants would be too much for my mom to handle alone. It really worries me. Kuddos to all the single moms of the world, I have such huge respect for them!


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## elliecain

I'm sorry DD has been poorly 2have. Hope she feels better and you don't all get it.
I agree about wondering how on earth single mothers cope... must be so hard and emotionally draining.

Scan day today! In 2.5 hours, I'll be in there, seeing my beautiful baby :)


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## Fern81

Sorry to hear that your dd is still so ill 2have :( aahh that's the worst. Hugs!

Ellie- stalking for happy scan news!! :)


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## elliecain

https://i66.tinypic.com/314owo4.jpg

It's a boy!!!!


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## froggyfrog

I hope dd starts to feel some relief soon 2have! And hopefully you aren't getting sick. 

Yay ellie!!! Congrats on a boy!!!!! How exciting! 

Fern, I'm glad that I'm your dh finally fired that contractor. Maybe that will take away some of your stress.


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## Pinkie3

Fern, glad to hear you got rid of that contractor, he sounds useless. I hope the renovations go more smoothly from here on and you get finished in your time frame. Why do us women decide to do stressful project when pregnant lol?? 

Everything went smoothly this weekend and my BIL and nephew done a great job in my house, all my new lights and switches are up, mirrors are up, bedroom furtniture is together. Me and sister done some shopping and we also repainted my feature wall in the dining room so it's coming together. Waiting for curtains and blinds to be made and fitted and I will be making a start on the nursery. 

RQ, great deal on the pregnancy pillow, I hope it works well for you.

2have, sorry to hear DD has been so poorly bless her and I hope you and DH don't catch it and its just tiredness from lack of sleep. I can imagine it's going to be difficult with 3 but you will be amazing. 

Ellie, how did the scan go today? 

I had my midwife appointment today and everything was good so we are really happy. I heard the beautiful heartbeat which I love and apparently my bump is coming along nicely. Apart from my sickness I am really lucky with how things have gone so far. I got weighed and it still hasn't moved since I got pregnant, I was borderline at the beginning so hopefully means I have lost some weight. I still don't have a regular pattern with movement some days it's very quiet, MW is not worried and said it usually has a regular pattern after 28 weeks so keep an eye on it after then. 

Ellie, if I remember we spoke about the hospital and NCT antenatal classes, I am booked on NCT end of Nov and I was only going to do the hospital tour but MW said that the antenatal there is specific to the hospital and will cover different things to the NCT so advised me to do both. Not sure DH is going to be happy about that but hey ho. Does anyone else's DH have lack of interest in these antenatal classes, mine is so supportive in everything but I really don't think he wants to attend these. It's tough he has to come. 

X


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## Rq120

Ellie - so glad your scan went well. Congrats on the boy. How exciting.

2Have - I hope your DD gets better soon, and you all get some much needed rest.

Pinkie - glad your appt went well. 

As for me, I'm going to have to call the doctor today. Yesterday I mentioned I had that headache. Well it lasted on and off all day. I was wearing compression stockings yesterday and when DH took them off last night my feet and ankles were SO SWOLLEN. It wouldn't be a big deal, but they haven't been swollen at all until yesterday. Today my feet are still really swollen. They are swelling out of my dress shoes and there is a pocket of jiggly water on the top of them. I'm going to go somewhere and check my blood pressure during my lunch break and then call my MD. I looked it up and whereas I expect some swelling with pregnancy, it said to call with SUDDEN swelling. So I'll call just in case.


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## elliecain

Rq, that's really scary. I hope the doctor can help and it's not too serious.


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## Pinkie3

I wish this website would inform you that someone else has posted on the thread while you were typing!! 

Ellie, congratulations on your baby boy, fab news that everything went well at the scan today, such a great feeling when you hit that milestone. 

RQ, sounds like you have been on your feet too much and your body is telling you to get some rest. Best to get it check out, I hope everything is ok.


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## Rq120

I took my blood pressure at lunch and it was still really good (110/70). I called and talked to the OB nurse. Told her about my symptoms and she said that as long as my blood pressure was good and the headache from yesterday went away then I'm ok. She said the swelling just might come and go. I was instructed to watch my salt intake, drink extra water, and monitor my blood pressure. DH is a worry wort and he saw my foot at lunch and wasn't happy. I'll go home tonight and spend a little time in the recliner putting my feet up (maybe make him make dinner - lol). I expected swelling, just not this soon!


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## froggyfrog

Rq, you can buy an at home blood pressure monitor for like 20-25 dollars. We have one and its really nice to have on hand.

I hope you feel better, that sounds awful!


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## 2have4kids

RQ that's huge swelling alright. I hope it goes away soon. They told me with the early onset of my cubital & carpal tunnel with twins if you're going to get symptoms it'll be earlier rather than later. Maybe it's the same with you.

Pinkie it must feel nice to get the renos and decorating squared away. I did a tonne of paperwork and got loads of checks off my list last week. Soon I'll be free to simply clean up the spare room upstairs and make it into the twin nursery. With the DH thing, I didn't think he was very excited either, kind of buzzed out actually. Involving him in all of the appointments and forcing him to attend classes helped out with him being interested. We did a baby & birth class as well as a finance class to know where all the tax rebates & credits RESP's as well as general budgeting and money saving tips. 

Ellie congrats on your baby boy, I'd love to know what we're having so that I can get some cute outfits. But we shall wait & see! 

Rebecca lovely bump pic! Glad to hear the scan went well.

Froggy how did the weekend go over with DH's birthday? 

Fern how are you my dear? 

I had a scan today. It was to check cervix length & baby growth. Both babies are now both head down and 1pound 5oz and 1pound 6 oz, very very close in weight:thumbup: and the cervix is more than double the length than the minimum it needs to be so no threat of early delivery. 
I called in sick yesterday, scratchy throat and tired as heck. But I'm back today and feel like it'll pass without getting too bad. I think being at home with a sick, teething infant is a more difficult job that being at work under the gun to design engagement products for my company. :wacko: Feeling sorry for my DH right now:haha:

Ladies what week do you consider official V-day? 24 or 25 weeks?


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## Fern81

Congrats on a cuddly cute little boy Ellie!! <3 

Happy to hear that your appointment went well Pinkie and that you are enjoying all your decorating. 

Rq- wow keep us updated on the swelling & blood pressure! I have a home bp monitor that I had to buy after getting diagnosed with low PAPP-A and it saves so much time. But you can have it done at work right? Hope you get better soon!! Do you have some time to rest this weekend?

2have - sounds so rough. Sick baby and sick pregnant momma. Hope those teeth come through quickly so that things can get a bit better for you! Glad to hear your scan also went well.

Froggy- have you had any more spotting? And how is you dh doing?

Things are ok here, my pregnancy is progressing well. My husband and I'm both so swamped at work that we don't have much time or energy to fight lol, which is good. The floors are finally finished and now to sand off and repaint the walls in 4 rooms :/ I told H that I just want to be finished with the nursery by the end of December. 

We're doing antenatal classes for a whole day in nov. They will be covering natural & c-section birth and newborn child care. Pinkie- my husband hasn't been excited by any drs visits (I mostly go by myself) or the prospect of classes at all but I agree with you; tough luck for them, they are our co-parents and if we have to learn then so do they! :)


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## rebecca822

Congrats Ellie on the little boy!!

Rq I'm sorry about the swollen feet, how uncomfortable! Keep your feet up when you can.

Afm- been busy at work. Nothing much else to report.


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## froggyfrog

Hope everyone is having a good day! I haven't had anymore spotting thank goodness. I have been taking it easy a lot more.

Dh had a great birthday. It really was a fun day. Thanks for asking.

I'm 27 weeks today, I'll be in third tri in a week. So unbelievable!


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## froggyfrog

Bare belly pic!


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## rebecca822

Happy 27th froggy! That's a milestone!!
Your bump looks similar to mine.


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## Fern81

You look great froggy!!

It's going by too fast! 100 days left for me today, countdown to double digits from tomorrow! EEEKKK!


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## Rq120

Froggy - what a cute pic!! I haven't taken a bare belly pic, but I'm trying to document my growing bump on a weekly basis. 

Today has been a crazy day at work. Lots of fires to put out and now I have a conference call at 5pm, but I'm off at 4pm. DH and I have that Multiples Class at 5:30 so I'll be trying to talk to VPs at a MAJOR retail pharmacy while trying to get to the hospital in time for class and sneak in a dinner somewhere in there. 

We had an all-employee meeting today and I received a Super Hero Award for "extraordinary contribution to our organization". It was a total surprise and I had to go up in front of everyone and receive my award. I got a framed certificate, a plush Super Woman doll, and a $100 gift card. It was amazing to be recognized after only being with the company for a year. They only hand one out a quarter. I was thinking why would they do this to a hormonal pregnant woman. I almost cried in my car after. 

My feet are better today. They were almost back to normal this morning. Thankfully when they were swollen they didn't hurt a bit, just looked super ugly. I looked up online and they said an Epsom salt bath might help. I took one last night and it actually helped a lot. I was surprised. 

Speaking of countdowns, I have my countdown set to 37 weeks (OB says is my full term date for twins) and I can't believe I only have 81 days left. Isn't that crazy!!! Kinda scary to think that I will be responsible for the complete care of TWO human beings in 81 days.....


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## rebecca822

Wow RQ congrats! I'm sure you deserved that recognition. It's always so nice to be acknowledged for your hard work. 
With my full term due date being January 27 I think I'm also in the double digits countdown. In fact, I have 13 weeks left!


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## elliecain

What a beautiful bump Froggy! Happy 27 weeks :)


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## rebecca822

DH got it in his head that we need to move to a larger house. I'm happy with our home as it's in my ideal neighborhood. It's a bit small for us long term but I really can't see myself moving now. He found a home in the adjacent neighborhood for a really good price and it's 3000 square feet (ours is 1900).
I told him I would look at the house but I really don't want to leave my neighborhood and friends.


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, fabulous bump picture. It's coming along nicely! Glad to hear the spotting has stop, one less thing to worry about.

RQ, congratulations on your award, what a lovely surprise that was. All your hard work is clearly being recognised. Great news about the swelling too. 

2have, great news on the scan and that both babies are head down. Does that mean if it stays this way you will continue to try for a natural birth? I consider my VDay at 27 weeks, I rotate on a 4 week month, 4 week month and then a 5 week month. 27 weeks will be 6th Nov which means I will be 6 months and exactly 3 months left to go. If that is correct I have no idea, it's just the way I do it as it makes more sense to me.

Fern, glad to hear things are finally coming together in the house. I hope you get the nursery done soon. 

Hope everyone is having a good week. We are away for a long weekend with friends from tomorrow, we will be in the middle of nowhere so not sure how much internet access I will have so will look forward to catching up on posts on Monday. Hope everyone has a fab weekend X


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## 2have4kids

ohhh Pinkie a mini-vaca sounds great! Do enjoy. Yes I'll try my hardest for another natural. We were out to coffee and doing walks and having fun a week after birth with MacKinley, I wouldn't want to be stuck in bed trying to heal wounds for 6 weeks unless absolute necessary. If there was an underlying serious condition like placenta previa or emergency where baby is in distress, sure make the war wound c-section but otherwise natural is best if at all possible.

rebecca I wouldn't want to move either but more space and a really good price would def be tempting. We've just reno'd our home up to the hilt with things we love so it'd be very very hard for me to move now. Once you've got your nest the way you like it you want to hold onto that comfort!


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## 2have4kids

Just got back from an OB appointment. She did a scan and I asked her what she thinks I'm having.....wait for it........unconfirmed but :twingirls:

4 girls in the house, wowzers, DH is going to have his hands full!


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## Fern81

Whaaaa 2have that was unexpected! Thought you were hardcore team yellow :) but CONGRATS!!! Would you like me to change your storks on the first page to pink or wait for it to be confirmed? :) 

Rq- aaawww congrats on your award! Superwoman!! 

Enjoy the weekend away pinkie. 

99 days "officially". I've already been struck with early third tri fatigue and oh the mood swings!! Geez. I've gone from feeling elated this morning to bawling my eyes out this evening. Anyone else feeling soooo tired? At the same time I feel so blessed and loving every kick and wriggle.


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## 2have4kids

Happy 99 days-left Fern! No that's alright, it really isn't official, it was a very good assumption. Team yellow until I see my girls:haha:

But you know what this means right? We'll have to keep trying for a boy lol.


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## rebecca822

Oh my 2have! That's a lot of girls!! I wonder if that will change.

Fern sorry that you're having mood swings that's part of the fun :)

I've been a little crampy the past few days so my ob told me to come in tomorrow for my appointment instead of next Friday. Even though I was at the OB last Friday he was not there so I only got a scan. Happy to see him I wanted my cervix checked I keep having nightmares that I'm gonna have preterm labor.


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## rebecca822

Quick update:
Babies look great. Cervix is closed. 
Going to be doing to glucose test in 2 weeks (I'll be 27 weeks then).
Dr said I'm measuring for a 30 week singleton so I'm starting to feel very large!

Have a great weekend ladies!


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## rebecca822

Hi again! Hope you're all having a great weekend.
It's been quiet so i guess everyone is busy :)


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## Fern81

Great update rebecca!! 
Yep we've been super busy; I worked yesterday, last night and today we're helping my sister move. Their new house is being renovated and not even close to being finished (the work ended up being WAY more than they had bargained!) And they have a 4yr old and 1yr old twins who need to be babysat & they are a HANDFUL!!! (2x teething at once!) So the whole family is helping out. :)


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, great news on the scan and that everything is good with the babies, they are doing a lot of growing so no wonder you are getting aches and pains. I am starting to get a few cramps occasionally too, I think it's when baby moves. 

2have, a house full of girls, so much fun and yes DH is so outnumbered, he is never going to have any money again ha ha :haha: there is part of me that is secretly hoping we have a boy first because I know my DH will be a nightmare with girls, he has already said if he has a daughter she isn't allowed to date until she is 30, the scary thing is I know he means it! 

Fern, happy single figures, I am there too, I can't believe it, I feel like time is going quickly and I am so happy about that. I hope you haven't worked too hard with the move today and spent fun time with your nieces/nephews. 

I hope everyone else is good and having a nice weekend. 

AFM (sorry I am going to have a rant) our weekend turned into a bit of a disaster, I am so disappointed. Firstly it took us an age to get there Fri with traffic etc so we missed most of the day and only really had the evening, that was nice but we were both tired and wanting an early night. Anyway fri evening DH started to feel unwell, all the sudden came over with the shivers and then was violently sick in the night and the morning. After having some sleep he said he felt a bit better but unfortunately wasn't feeling up to getting involved with the weekend, it was hard work because I was seeing to him to make sure he was ok and also wanting to spend time with my friends. He perked up a little but then was ill again Sat evening but from the other end (sorry TMI) after spending all night and morning on the toilet we made the decision to come home this morning. Stupid bloody hormones but I burst into tears on the drive home, we've had this weekend booked for months and we were spending it with my oldest and bestest friends from my home town, we all live in different parts of the country and they also brought their families and I hardly get to see their children. I know it can't be helped and I really felt for my DH because he was so poorly and refused to go home on Saturday because he didn't want to let me down. I got upset driving back because this always happens to us, neither of us have had a proper break in so long and everytime we plan something it goes wrong. The bad luck I've had over the last 5 years has been nothing short of a joke and I am not just talking infertility related so today I almost had a child like tantrum on why?? I thought our bad luck was over and we could start living life again. I know this probably sounds over dramatic and pregnancy will not be helping but I am just feeling a little sorry for myself today. Thankfully we got home much quicker on the way home DH is now sleeping soundly in bed and I hope he feels better tomorrow. I am going to have an early night and I am sure I will feel better in the morning, in the meantime I am sulking! 
Sorry for the little rant xxx


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## 2have4kids

Didn't want to read n run I'll write more tomorrow. Pinkie sending you massive hugs:hugs:


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## elliecain

Oh Pinkie, that sucks. I'm sorry your weekend got trashed, but it really was just one of those things. You are not jinxed... just think, you are growing an actual person! I know it sometimes feels like the planets are misaligned and everything is going wrong, but that is life. The older I get, the more I realise that life throws crap our way all the time and we have to just try to enjoy the rare occasion when that doesn't happen!

Not to underestimate your disappointment :hugs: It was rubbish that your poor DH is poorly and you didn't get to spend time with your friends. Can you arrange another meet for after your baby arrives?


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## Fern81

Aaaahhh pinkie!!! Rant and vent away, we all need to sometimes! So sorry that you had such a terrible weekend. :( hun remember the wheel HAS to turn and hopefully the next few weeks are great ones!! Hugs!


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## froggyfrog

So sorry pinkie! I feel the exact same way sometimes. I have really just learned to just roll with it. It seems like something is always going on, or something happens. I hope you wake up feeling much better today. And it's definitely ok for your emotions to be elevated. You are doing something so incredible right now!


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## Rq120

Good morning ladies.

Pinkie - I'm sorry your special weekend didn't turn out as planned. That just stinks!

2Have - 3 girls ?!?!? - crazy. 

I had a good restful weekend. I had the best night's sleep on Saturday night than I have had in months. It felt so stinking good! I got a lot of downtime in this weekend and it was so nice after such a busy month and working so much. This week will be another busy week/weekend for me. My SIL (who lives with us) is throwing a birthday party at our house on Friday night and then my baby shower is Sunday. I think we have about 30 who RSVP'ed to the baby shower. So this week and Saturday we will spend getting ready for both parties. Thankfully, the shower is at a rented hall and not the house, but we will still have lots of prep to do.

Babies are doing well from what I can tell. They are getting busier in there day by day. My next appt is next Thursday (11/10) and I get to do the whole gamut - Tdap, Rhogam, glucose test, ultrasound, breast pump paperwork (to get a free one from insurance), routine blood work. 
Why do they test me for syphyllis again? I know it's routine, but it is so silly being in a monogamous marriage of 10 years and they tested me at the beginning. 

I hope everyone has a great week.


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## Rq120

Oh! I wanted to share my outfit with you guys. 

Happy Halloween!!
 



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## rebecca822

Ugh busy at work and can't comment on everything at the moment.
RQ I absolutely love love your Halloween outfit!!
Flying today for business will be back Thursday night. Don't know if I'll have time to post during the week.


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## 2have4kids

LOL RQ I've had more STD panels than I could imagine with the past 3 years and 7 IVF's. Every 6 months is the rule around IVF's and when it comes to protecting baby they'll do and redo those tests especially with rh factor if you are rh-, which I am. With DD she'll be RH- I think, because both DH and I are O- but with these babies I'm O- and they are O+ so could be either which means I get the injection and testing. CUTE outfit BTW, love it!

Pinkie, it may seem like bad things always happen to you but they really are spread around to other people too. We've both been terribly terribly ill on some of our best vacations. I'm sorry this happened to you & DH. It sounds like it was quite a reunion! It only gets more complicated with children and if you can handle the roller coaster of life together with DH, you'll do brilliantly with kids too. 

Fern you must almost be finished up then for the year? When's your last day before mat leave? 

I hope everyone had a good weekend. My colleague and I organized a walk though for 20 kids from the downstairs daycare on our floor on their trick or treating campaign. It was great to see the little ghouls & goblins! I'm looking forward to getting DD dressed up tonight in her unicorn costume and going for a walk. The neighbors have done an amazing job on decorating their front yards. Maybe we'll stop in the Italian Market for a decaf coffee too. 

I woke up really sick yesterday. Headache, sore throat, numb throbbing arms so I took a tylenol. Big mistake...I've never barfed so violently! Oh my goodness I thought my eyes would pop out. DH took DD out & about so that I could nap all day. Uggg! Today is better, got a better sleep as the arms weren't too bad.


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## elliecain

Great tee shirt, RQ!


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## Pinkie3

Thank you for all your nice comments ladies, sorry for off loading but I clearly needed a rant and the last person I wanted to rant to was DH because he felt terrible enough as it was. What happened was a grain of sand compare to what we've been through over the years so I don't know why I got so bothered about it. These hormones can be lethal. I am over it now and DH is feeling a little better which is the main thing. My Girlfriends have been amazing and trying to sort out a date to come and see me before baby is born which is so nice of them because I know how busy life is. 

2have, sorry to hear you are sick too. It's definitely the time of year for all these bugs, glad DH took DD out to give you some much needed rest. Have lots of Halloween fun tonight and post a picture of DD in her little outfit if you can, she always looks so adorable.

Rebecca, sorry work is a bit crazy at the moment. Have a safe flight for your business trip and I look forward to reading your update when you get time. 

RQ, glad you got a restful weekend and babies are still doing good. Cute Halloween outfit!

I hope everyone has a fun evening whatever they are doing. We don't really do Halloween so I am off to yoga tonight. Looking forward to some relaxation. X


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## Fern81

2have - how are you feeling today? Sorry to hear that you were so sick!
I don't have "official" mat leave; I run my own business and year-end is just my quietest time. I'm a private teacher and most of my students are finishing up with their year-end exams mid nov (we have a Jan-Dec school year). So by mid nov most of my work will be done. Some of my students have elected to start with next year's curriculum right after their exams, and carry on until end Nov/mid Dec so that they don't fall behind when I close my business for a month or so after baby's arrival next year. But even that will just mean a few hours' class a week. I will definitely be on leave mid Dec- the first week of Jan, and then maybe start teaching again for a week or two, depending on how I feel. 

Rq- lol that shirt is just too cute!!! :) I was never tested for stds... wonder if that's standard procedure here? (I giggled a bit at you having to get tested so frequently - sorry!!) I just had to get an HIV test before my most recent laparoscopy for endo removal. The dr claimed it was so that adequate post-op care could be given in case I was immune compromised. Fair enough.

How is everyone doing? 

HEAT WAVE and severe drought in RSA... a continuation of last year's el nino :(. Our swimming pool is back in order after the pump got clogged, yay! I haven't had a swim though because there are still builders here daily. Our renos are slow and frustrating. ... the painters messed up our BRAND NEW 20k floor and my husband freaked out. I don't even go in that part of the house anymore, it's too stressful! I will deal with cleaning and moving all the furniture after the renos are finished lol. 

Question: for those of you planning on doing IVF/FET again after this pregnancy, when are you thinking of doing it? We definitely want to do FET for a sibling but I'm not sure when I will be ready. My husband wants us to do it ASAP after baby's birth!! Idk yet.


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## 2have4kids

Fern glad to hear things will wind down soon for you, hopefully with the construction too? Do you have an end date estimation? Sorry about the floors, is it something they can clean up? :grr:
After we had DD, I started testing with OPK's and my clear blue easy fertility monitor and magically got a glaring ++ 3 months after birth. We tried but nothing happened (not surprisingly). Then a full cycle and then no cycle until I decided to have an ivf 7 months out. Every month that passed drove me crazy with baby fever to 1. get our little girl a sibling and 2. have an ivf before I go back to work (dealing with failure while working is just NO fun!). Gearing up took a month as they put me on progesterone to have a cycle first and then on the 21st day I did the transfer, hence our twins. I did NOT want my children far apart in age but I feel I also have the resources and people to help me with whatever I'd need. So that's probably a big factor in things. My colleague, on the other hand, waited until her DD was 4 years old to try again. Her DD desperately wants a sibling. They won't have much in common but that doesn't matter, it's probably going to be easier dealing with a capable 4 year old and baby. 
I opted for the more difficult task of having them super close together (so close they may even be in the same grade!) but they will be able to play together and experience learning things at the same rate. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. I'm also 41 now and my body isn't getting any younger. You are your most fertile 1 year after birth and I was banking on that to help get DD siblings since I got a rainbow miracle child with her. After being diagnosed with DOR and multiple immune issues 5 years ago conceiving naturally seemed impossible. Less than 5% chance of a natural I think they said. After the twins we'll try again (because I want a boy!) but no more ivf's for me. So chances are very low that I'll get pregnant again :cry: but 3 is alot to handle and 4 would be pretty crazy!


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## froggyfrog

Love your shirt rq!! 

Happy that you ladies will get mat leave soon, and things will calm down.

Fern, we will be ntnp. I'm definitely not expecting to conceive naturally, but if it happens, obviously I will be overjoyed. We will do an FET in the summer of 2018, when Gage is 1.5 so that there will be just a little over 2 years in between. Although some days I think I want to go back in ASAP and try again immediately. Dh wants to do gender selection with our second and transfer a girl embryo. I'm not really sure how I feel about that just yet. Either way we want 3 kids with 2 years in between each.


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## Pinkie3

Fern, I hope things calm down soon with all the renovations, it's not nice when your home is upside down but I am sure it will all be worth it in the end. We are hoping to do ours next year and I am really not looking forward to it, everyone tells me how stressful it is. I hope my MIL doesn't mind me moving in for a few months lol. 

It's funny because I have been thinking a lot recently about when to have our FET, we have two frozen embryos and will definitely be using them. If they don't work then that's me done, I honestly don't think I can put myself through anymore cycles and unfortunately now I have no tubes it's impossible for me to conceive naturally. I will just be happy with the one I have. I am leaning more towards following Froggy and going again in Summer 2018, my SIL done this and it's work really well. Saying that, it all depends on how I cope with this one, if it's the devil child I might not want anymore lol! 

Oh and 2have, if anyone could handle 4 babies, it is definitely you!

X


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## froggyfrog

Previa still hasn't resolved. We will check again at 32 weeks and she said at that point if it hasn't moved it probably wont. I'm in the waiting room of my OB now. I will be getting on the c section schedule today just to be certain I have a spot, and get to choose my dr.


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## Rq120

Froggy - I hope that placenta moves for you.

As for trying again, I have heard that most doctors prefer that you wait for a year in between to allow your body to recuperate and your vitamin stores to replenish. I have heard of people going back to the RE at about 7 months post delivery to start the process again. 

As for me and DH, we have one embryo frozen. I think we will be done after these twins, but we have this embryo we will pay to keep frozen for a few years so we can make up our minds. I will go on birth control ASAP, prob 6 weeks after delivery due to my endo. It prob would be best to go on something that will keep me from having a period at all (maybe the depo shot). Anything that is going to prevent/control my severe pain and prevent endo growth. That might play a role in if we try for a third also. We are really happy that we are having a boy and a girl. With my history, that just may be perfect for us.

2Have, I hope you are feeling better. I have been stuffy the last few days/nights and I'm ready to be over it. I'm hoping its a cold and not pregnancy related, because I'm hoping it will go away. 

I moved my pregnancy pillow out of the bed this weekend and I have had a few nights of awesome sleep. Last night was just blissful, and this morning I was so comfy it didn't even feel like I was pregnant. 

So my baby shower is this weekend. I'm excited. My best friend and SIL have gone overboard on planning and they are keeping it all a secret from me. They have put so much effort and love that I know it is going to be awesome. My SIL says there are over 40 people who have RSVP'ed. When I got married I didn't have anyone to throw a bridal shower, help me pick out a dress, or a bachelorette party. I think everyone is trying to make this extra special for me.


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## froggyfrog

I hope you enjoy your baby shower RQ! It sounds like it's going to be great!!
I'm officially in 3rd tri today!!!!
So if the placenta doesn't move, baby will probably be born on Dec 30th at 36+2. Which is only 8 weeks away, holy crap!!!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy happy 3rd tri! :happydance:

RQ I've been to ALOT of baby showers and seen lots of games and such but the best one by far was at the last one where the father-to-be picked 2 other guys to be blind folded and they had to see which one could put a diaper on a doll baby the fastest. It was hilarious! I've never laughed so hard. It was a big shower too for a lady who'd been ttc for 8+ years. I hope yours is just as joyous and you get some awesome gifts! Do enjoy, this is your moment.

I've heard this too about ttc in your year having just had a baby and as far as my doctor said it takes about 6 weeks to recover from a natural delivery and as long as you continue eating well and start exercising at 6 weeks post delivery to help your body recover, take both a good iron supplement and a daily multi (especially if you're bf-ing) you should be good to ttc. Especially seeing that it's so hard for some of us. It is supposed to be easier in that first year after giving birth as your body is primed but it's a very individual decision. I wouldn't let what anyone say make that decision for me. We started ttc at 3 months as I felt great, fully recovered and ready to go again. But if you have a hard delivery that may change your mind, it's a very personal decision and one that the DH's need to let us make!


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, happy 3rd trimester! Sorry the placenta hasn't moved but the main thing is that your little boy will arrive safely in whatever way that might be. 8 weeks is really scary, time is going so fast. Can I ask why they are doing c section at 36 weeks? I thought it wasn't allowed until 38 weeks but maybe that's just a UK thing? 

RQ, it's lovely that everyone is making such a effort for your baby shower, you clearly have some very thoughtful and supportive people around you. Enjoy every moment of it. 

X


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## froggyfrog

Pinkie, with the placement of the placenta they want to get him out before my body tries to start preparing for labor. If I were to have contractions or start to dilate it cam cause the placenta to rupture and put me and the baby in a really dangerous position. So they want to make sure that they stay ahead of my body.


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, arh right that makes perfect sense then. Sounds pretty scary but thankfully they are on the case x


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## Rq120

Yikes froggy. 8 weeks is crazy. I'll be 27 weeks on Sunday and full term for me is considered 37 weeks so I'll start a 10 week countdown. I'm sure these last weeks will fly by and slow down at the same time. You have excitement mixed with every other emotion and as we get bigger we will start to be more and more uncomfortable.


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## 2have4kids

I just ordered this through the mail as Gap has a 35% off everything sale. Also got some white fuzzy toques with ear flaps and mittens to keep them warm. Has anyone else thought about what they're going to bring them home in?


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## froggyfrog

That is adorable 2have!!!! I'll post a pic of what we are doing for a going home outfit.


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## froggyfrog

I guess I better hurry up and order this


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## 2have4kids

Sweet Froggy! I've taken a week off in the middle of Nov and 2 weeks around Christmas to prepare the twins nursury. It's a slightly bigger room than DD's so we'll leave her where she is and set up the crib and change table, rocking chair in there. I think we'll bring up a single bed for DD in addition to her crib and it'll be easy to read her bedtime stories having lots of snuggle time in her room before bed.


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## Fern81

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on siblings and repeated FET/IVF/TTC! As always I loved reading all the different opinions. 

We will be actively preventing a natural conception; and first use our 2 remaining embies. If that fails we might ttc "naturally" for a set time. (I'll probably go back on bcp for endo in any case). We won't do ivf again. It has always been our decision to just try it once. I think we have a good shot at a sibling with our frosties and already can't wait to be pregnant again lol... I'm personally thinking of FET Apr 2018 (so my timing ito work & mat leave will be good again, as it happened to be this time) but we'll see! I also have a big decision to make regarding using both or just one remaining embie.... I don't want to have twins but the embies were frozen together and so will be thawed together.... but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Rq I hope you have a GREAT babyshower!!!! Aaawww hope they make a huge fuss!! <3

Love your going home outfits 2have and froggy :)


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## Rq120

Hi ladies. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm feeling a bit run down today. I had to get up to pee a lot last night. I think my body was getting rid of some water weight along with the babies sitting on my bladder. I got up at 5am to pee and then I feel back asleep. I woke up again and felt like I had to go really bad and got up. I looked at the clock and it was only 5:15am. I think that last one was my silly boy, but the rest of my trips were not false alarms like that. 

I'm also feeling a bit mentally run down. I don't know if you all remember, or how much I told on here, but my mom cussed me out and told me never to contact her again in May during my IVF cycle. There is a lot of history and frankly I am happy to cut her off and move on, so I haven't talked to her since. Well my grandpa yesterday forwarded me an email that she sent him. He said "I just wanted to let you know how your mom was feeling". I think he thought it would help, but in the message my mom said I wasn't thinking straight and that I didn't love her unconditionally. So it did the opposite of help!! I told my grandpa as much, but it was still emotionally draining having to deal with family pressures to reconcile with a toxic person. And then last night my aunt just got back from 3 weeks at St Martin and found out my mom's dog died last week. She texted me to see if I had heard and if I had been in touch with her, like anything would change in 3 weeks. Again with the family pressure. Everyone thinks we just had a fight and it has been blown out of proportion. It's more than this single episode and personally I don't want that type of person (grandparent or not) around my children. Sigh, family drama can be so draining.

I go to the doc in one week. I thought I would be happy to take some time off of the OB (4 weeks between appts), but the babies' movements come and go and I am looking forward to checking in on them. DH is leaving work a little early so we can come to my next ultrasound. He is so sweet and loves seeing his babies.


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## 2have4kids

RQ sorry to hear about your family issues. I've had a rocky road with my little sister and when she inquired into having a better relationship with me so that she could be a part of DD's life I insisted on us going to counselling. The counsellor was fantastic pointing out to her that it sounds like she simply doesn't want to make much effort and she really needs to decide if she wants to be a part of the family or not! It would only come across from me as venom, but from a 3rd party it made my heart thump with relief and then she took 3 months to think about it before the next appointment! :grr: Anyway, I say follow your gut lady. Do what you feel is necessary. If your mom has cut your relationship through her bad behaviour and her dog dies she gets to deal with that all by herself and the friends/family she's managed to keep. These other family members sound like they want you to reconcile by giving you all of this information. But really you could sit on it and simply move on with your life by the sounds of it. If it's important to you to surround your LO with loving family and keep the drama to a minimal then follow your plan. Keep your chin up and boxing gloves on  You've got a precious family to protect! 
I too am fighting something, my throat has been raw and sore all week and I wake up feeling like I haven't had 2 hours of sleep each night thanks to constantly waking up with numb throbbing arms. Stuffy nose & headaches are just the cherries on this cake. Soon it'll pass though and I'll have a week off in the middle of November. I'm just not looking forward to swim lessons with DD tonight.


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies just wanted to drop in. Got home really really late last night from my business trip and tonight I'm hosting a bridal shower with a few friends. Awful timing and I'm exhausted beyond belief.
Babies are kicking away so I'm content.

Regarding trying again- my ideal family is 4-5 children. DH grew up with 5 siblings and I have 4. I think it's really nice to have a big family. We have 7 embryos so the plan is that when the twins are 2 to thaw them and do PGD and then we will know how many genetically normal we have. We will not be doing another fresh IVF so if the fets don't work out we'll probably be done. Also, we won't have more than 5 children so we will not use any remaining embryos of it come to that. 
For the first 2 years after the babies are born I would like to get an IUD since I don't get my period with the IUD. I would not mind a spontaneous pregnancy at some point but it would have to be after the babies are 1.

Sorry I didn't comment on each of your posts individually as I kind of lost track of the past few days.


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## Rq120

Thanks for your reply 2have. I hope you get to feeling better.


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## Fern81

Rq- I'm so so sorry you're having to deal with that, and from your own mother! SHE made the decision not you... you only have one life and you need to be happy not only for your own sake but also for your hubby and kids! Just smile and nod. You can only give as much love as you can- you're a person not a magician who can just magically fix your mom's behaviour! Hugs. Xxxx

2have - hope the sickness can finally leave your house now!! 

Gl with your bridal shower rebecca. :)

Eta- sorry about my short reply rq, I was so rushed with work but just wanted to send a message of support. I fully agree with the other ladies especially about forgiveness being important but you still get to choose who you surround yourself with and who will be an influence on your children's development (and that the latter is a separate decision from forgiveness). Again, hugs!


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## froggyfrog

Rq, I'm sorry everyone is pressuring you to reconcile when you don't want to. I certainly can understand exactly what your going through. Me and my 4 brothers have no relationship. As far as I'm concerned, I'm an only child now. One of them, my mom is always trying to pressure me to talk to him and telling me that I shouldn't hold a grudge and what will I tell my son blah blah blah. My other family all say the same thing. I simply tell them that I have forgiven him for everything in our past (which is A LOT that went down between us, and between him and my dh) and just because I have chosen to not have someone in my and my child's life doesn't mean that I'm holding on to some sort of grudge. I can't for my own sanity surround myself with him, or any of my other brothers for that matter. I disagree with the way the live their lives, and how they show no support for their children. It's awful. And I know that if any one of them talked in front of my kid the way they talk in front of the other kids it will not turn out good. Also my dh really can't stand his father. They have had a rocky relationship my whole dh's life. Now that dh is an adult he has chosen to cut him out of his life. I think we just get older and realize that we ate not children anymore, and that we don't have to take ant sort of abuse or bullying from anyone. Especially now that we are becoming mothers. Yes forgiveness is important, and we do certainly have to teach our kids to forgive, but making boundaries and protecting yourself is also an important lesson to teach them. An I'm a firm believer that both of those concepts can go hand in hand. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you invite them back into your life. And honestly why do you want to have to keep forgiving someone over and over. You can forgive your mother and keep your distance. I would just tell the other family members that you are not holding anything against your mother, but that you are about to become a mother yourself and you care too much about yourself and your children to allow someone to constantly bully you. There is also a difference between caring about yourself, and being selfish. Thus turned into a major rant, and I hope it makes sense. I hope you can feel better about it all soon.


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## Pinkie3

I just typed a whole message and lost it arrrhh!! Let's try again.

Rebecca, gosh you sound like a busy bee at the moment you must be exhausted. I hope you don't have any plans this weekend so that you can get some rest.

RQ, I am sorry to hear you are feeling run down but it sounds understandable. I am also sorry that this feud with your mum happened when you needed the support the most and I second everything the other ladies have said. You should politely tell other family members to butt out and concentrate on you, DH and the family you are about to welcome into the world. I am a true believer that blood is not thicker than water and as difficult as that is we just have to accept it. We dont choose our families. I too have been in a similar situation with my siblings, we've always been really close but my mum passed away 2 years ago and I saw a completely different side to one of them, I will never be able to forget what happened. Emotionally I wasn't coping and had some counselling, I learnt how to deal with my grief and anger, it was the best thing I done. If it gets to this point with you, I highly recommend it. I have forgiven but only so I can move on with my life, and we hardly have any contact anymore which suits me. 2have, Froggy, I am sorry to hear things have been difficult with your families too, it's amazing how often it happens. You sound like extremely strong women.

2have, sorry you are still feeling poorly, I hope it passes soon. My DH is still unwell too, everyone seems to be coming down with something. 

Loving the coming home outfits, I cannot wait to get ours. 

I have some good news, we brought our travel system today. I didn't want to buy anything until my 28 week scan but this was too good of offer to turn down. We only went to look as I wanted to show DH what I liked. Unknown to us DH knew the guy working that section which was great because he certainly knew his stuff. He had just put together the last 2016 model they had in stock and putting on a managers offer which knocked £400 off (the difference in models, the new one has a leather handle). He also let me change the colour and he threw in a couple of extras for us. We got such a good deal. Because it had already been put together it is now sitting in the 'nursery to be' up and ready to be used, I can't wait. As you can tell I am pretty excited. X


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## 2have4kids

ooohhhh Pinkie well done at the stroller store!! What a handy coincidence that your DH knew the salesman, got to love that:happydance: What system did you chose in the end? I think you ladies have a better selection than we do over here.

Rebecca wow you sound exhausted but you'll co-host this shower and then be able to kick your feet up for the weekend? 

Anyone have plans for the weekend then? I got a call that we're getting a huge dump of free mulch for our rental property (I put a call into a tree cutting service to ask for some in the spring) so we need to get a babysitter (grandma) and move some mulch to replenish our xeroscaped lot. I proposed that we go see a movie after that and have a little bit of couples time alone.


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## Fern81

Good job on the travel system pinkie!! How exciting! 

2have - enjoy the garden work and date night. We are just carrying on with renovations this weekend, the painters keep screwing up and I just want them GONE already! Tonight we have dh's year end function and I'm working again tomorrow. 

27weeks today, which I'm counting as 3rd tri!! (Actually, Monday 31 oct was the end of my sixth month already; crazy!!) 3rd tri symptoms have hit me all at once a week or so ago; aching back, cankles, fatigue, mood swings!! But I'm still loving being pregnant. Let's see how I feel in a few more weeks :).


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## froggyfrog

Awesome you got such a great deal pinkie! 

2have, How grest your getting the mulch for free, I hope you can manage to have a date night.

Fern, Im definitely feeling 3rd tri! The heartburn and acid reflux has gotten so bad, I'm having nausea. I started taking Zantac so hope that starts working soon. I also have had bad RLP again. It's been a couple of months since I have had it. It feels like my public bone is about to be cut in half, and that someone is tearing my right leg off! I haven't been able to carry on with my normal day to day stuff, and definitely walking slow and with a waddle now. It took me twice as long yesterday to run errands yesterday! Baby boy weighs 2lb 10oz!


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## rebecca822

Froggy I'm sorry you're so uncomfortable. I'm sort of feeling weighed down at this point too. My stomach feels huge and heavy and I feel like it's gonna burst!
It's so hard to get daily tasks done. Bathing dd has been my biggest challenge, she also showers but I still need to bend to help her wash herself. 
Sorting laundry or anything that requires bending has become so difficult. My tummy feels sore and I wonder if I can go through another 12 weeks of this.

Pinkie I'm so happy that you got a great travel system, that's 1 big item to check off the list.

The bridal shower was so nice, and although I worked really hard I'm glad I did. This weekend I have no plans! Yay! Literally sitting on the couch watching tv all day :)
Can't wait for work to be over and the weekend to begin!


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## Rq120

Ladies, thank you all so much for your kind words and support. Yes, I still love my mom. Always have and always will. I also have forgiven her. But like some of you said, forgiveness does not mean you are welcome back to repeat the behavior time and time again (especially in front of my children!). It was really nice to have all of your support!!

Pinkie - Yay on the stroller deal. I love getting deals!! 

Sorry to hear that pregnancy is taking it's toll on most of us. I hope we can all finish out this pregnancy will minimal discomforts. I'm personally doing pretty good so far. I did have some RLP last night and a little this morning but nothing like you are describing!! During the day at work I usually feel pretty good except for some tiredness. I'm just counting my blessings and trying to cherish this time.

Rebecca - I am so envious of you and being able to relax all weekend. 
I'm gearing up for a crazy weekend between my SIL birthday party at our house tonight and the baby shower on Sunday. I am taking care of the food for the baby shower so I need to take the dogs to the vet Saturday morning and then hit the stores to get food supplies. Thankfully not much cooking is involved. I am setting up a sandwich bar (chicken salad, deli meats, assorted cheeses, assorted gormet breads, etc), cheese ball, meatballs and cocktail weinies, several different kinds of salads/pastas, a fruit and a veggie platter. I didn't want to try to cook and keep food warm. AND I'm feeding 45 so I needed to keep it simple!! I'm sure I'll be ready to drop dead after this party. But it's gonna be so fun.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!


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## Pinkie3

Fern, congrats on the 3rd Trimester!!! I hit mine on Sunday, I feels so unreal doesn't it.

Sorry to hear you ladies are starting to struggle a little. I too am feeling blessed because so far things have been good, however I am not going to speak too soon as there is still time. I do believe a lot of the yoga tips I have implemented over the last 10 weeks have really helped too. As for bending down I try not do so my body is folding in half, I get down on my knees whenever I can and I also lean forward while holding onto something so my stomach falls forward (if that makes any sense). As for heartburn, mine is so much better than it was in the early days, I hardly get it anymore. I am always upright, even when sitting on the sofa I have pillows behind me to ensure I am sitting straight, I also stretch my arms out to the front, then the side and to the back to open up the chest area, this is suppose to really help. Just a couple of tips I was given that have helped me. I hope things get more comfortable for you.

RQ, a cold Buffett sounds like the way forward especially for that many people. I hope everything goes well this weekend and you enjoy all the attention on Sunday. 

2have, a date night sounds perfect, hope you get Grandma to take up babysitting duties. The stroller I got was a Bugaboo Buffalo and it's perfect! 

I have a nice weekend planned, tomorrow evening I am going to an organised firework display but the weather and turned really cold so I need to wrap up. Sunday I am meeting my mums best friend for lunch, she lives 100 miles away and we haven't seen each other since I have been pregnant. My mum had a very special relationship with her from a young age and I think we both feel close to my mum when we see each. I know my mum confided in her about my fertility struggles and it was very emotional when I told her our news. I can't wait to see her. 

If I don't get a chance to come on here again this weekend then I hope everyone has a good one X


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## rebecca822

Rq that sounds like a lot of work for one person! Yummy menu and I'm sure it will be great, enjoy!

Pinkie have a great time with your mums friend I'm sure she'll be happy to see you with your belly :)

Just about done work for the week. Hooray, welcome weekend


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## Fern81

Rq- can't wait to hear all about your baby shower!! I'm so excited for all of your showers; almost as much as I am for my own lol!!! Enjoy <3

Pinkie- enjoy the visit with mom's friend, it sounds so special. Glad to hear you are still doing well, you sure suffered with your eating issues. 

Hope everyone is enjoying a nice weekend! Afm- renovations..... geez this is taking long. We're only redoing the floors & painting the walls of 3 rooms and the front parlor, and so far it's been more than 7 weeks & not nearly finished. I tell my husband every DAY that come what may, end Nov the furniture is going back in the house and I need to start working on the nursery and sorting/buying/washing things for my boy. I'll be past 30 weeks by the time I can even START sorting out the nursery, grrr!


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## rebecca822

Weekend was nice and relaxing.
Today was beautiful, unseasonably warm. We took dd to the park and then did grocery shopping for the week. I did a lot of food prep. Cut veggies for all the salads for the week and DH made a big soup.
Here comes another work week and I'm dreading it!


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## Fern81

Hope everyone has a good week at work (or doing all the jobs around the house) and that it's not too tiring!

Well my husband actually got really far with the renovations yesterday and we're hoping to start moving some furniture back in at the end of the week!! All the furniture has to be washed first, it's all dusty from being stored away for 7+ weeks, and a lot of it got paint/plaster/cement dust on it despite being covered... you know how it goes. I'm arranging with a cleaning lady to start helping me scrub and move smaller items around Thursday-ish.

How is everyone doing pregnancy wise? Any scans coming up in the week?


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so glad you've made some progress on the renos! I'm sure it's nice to finally be almost settled back.

I have my glucose test, OB visit, and scan on Thursday.


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## Rq120

I am so exhausted, but overwhelmed by love. The baby shower was incredible. My SIL and friend did an amazing job and we had a great turnout. We had quite a few people come from 2+ hours away to the shower. I can't tell you how incredible it was. 
The food was a lot of work, but DH was amazing and helped with everything. His back was hurting by the end of the day too (lol). Some family came from out of town as a surprise. They showed up about 5pm and all pitched in to help with the food. That was an amazing help also. AND we got to see DH's 3 month niece. They live 5 hours away so we don't get a lot of opportunities to visit.
DH's cousin is an aspiring photographer, so she took lots of pics of the shower. I can't wait to see how they turn out. 
We got a lot of smaller stuff: clothes, baby care stuff, bibs, etc so we are all good on that stuff. We also a lot of money/gift cards so we can buy the big stuff. My MIL bought us two cribs! Later this month, DH and I will start getting the baby room together and finish shopping for the bigger stuff.
After the party MIL, SIL, DH, and best friend all came over. They helped to clean up the food and wash all the dishes. Then the girls went through all the gifts and we got everything organized and put away. Considering all that happened this weekend, my house looks amazing. Especially since we had a birthday party for SIL on Friday night too!

I was so busy and on my feet so much this weekend that I didn't feel the babies much. When I did feel them they felt like weak kicks. I can't remember when the weaker/less movements started but it was before this weekend. Maybe Thursday? I was starting to get worried. Fortunately, they started kicking like crazy last night and again this morning. Strong kicks and lots of them. So I'm feeling much better that they are healthy in there. I have a whole slew of tests/labs and an ultrasound on Thursday, so we will check on them then.

Last night I had a rough night. I sometimes get lower belly pain, like where my belly meets my groin area. Last night it hurt no matter how I laid or supported my belly. I was so tired as one point I sat up to relieve the pain and I almost fell asleep sitting on the side of my bed. I ended up wrapping my pregnancy pillow around itself and propping it and a bunch of pillows against the headboard and slept the rest of the night sitting up. I'm still battling a sinus cold so I couldn't breathe on top of the discomfort. Oh the joys of being pregnant.

I'll post a pic of the baby shower when DH's cousin sends me the ones she took.


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## 2have4kids

Fern great news on the renos, it'll be nice to spend third tri in a lovely newly renovated home. 
Rebecca good luck with the glucose test. I got a pass on this since I referred myself to the diabetic clinic in the start of second tri. I have some bloodwork to do this week too. 
RQ the shower sounds like it was great. Isn't it awesome how people all come together for babies! I was shocked and amazed at the love when we had our meet n greet for MacKinley. People were so generous even after we said gifts aren't necessary!
I hope everyone had a great weekend. DH and I moved half of the mulch, there was SOOO much of it. We won't have to touch the landscaping on that property for another 10 years at least :happydance: DD was coughing so hard she was barfing so I brought her in and she has bronchitis. And she's cutting another molar so needless to say it was another sleepless weekend. I'm still stuffed up with soar throat too, I don't think a lack of sleep does anything to help be on the mend. Oh well, I expect this for another 3 years with these LO's on the way. At least the hours I do get to sleep won't be interrupted by numb throbbing arms!


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## rebecca822

Wow Rq sounds amazing and exhausting! Glad your babies were nice and active so you didn't need to worry for too long and I'm happy you got some sleep!
I guess the plus of people knowing about the twins is that you got double the gifts! Since no one knows I guess we can just hope we'll get some. NIce gifts ;)
My mom happens to have the same crib as us. There's a fancy baby furniture store close to my home and I got a crib and baby dresser for dd when she was born (DH grandma gave us the $ for it) my mom did a lot of babysitting and wanted a crib for her house so she went to the same store and Li and behold they had the exact same crib on clearance for a great price so she bought it. So, I plan on asking her for the crib once the babies are born so we have 2 matching cribs.
DH did research on strollers and it looks like we are leaning towards the bumbleride indie twin. I really wanted to bugaboo but it's honestly a bit impractical and you're paying a high price for the name tag. Bugaboo is about $1800 and the bumbleride is $739.


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## Pinkie3

RQ, glad to hear that the weekend was a huge success and you enjoyed every minute of it.

Fern, what a relief that things are finally coming together at home and a smart move to get a cleaning lady in to get everything back to normal. 

Rebecca, glad you managed to get a relaxing weekend in after all your travels. My bugaboo cost no where near that amount, wow, I wonder why it's so much more expensive over there? Maybe it's because I was only after one for a singleton. I would never pay for a name tag on anything but it's the best in the market over here and not heard or seen one negitive comment about them. Just a shame it's ridiculously priced in the US. 

2have, I am glad you got a lot of gardening done. Sorry that DD now bronchitis, poor little thing is coming down with everything. No wonder you are not able to get better with no sleep, rest is the best medicine. I hope things get a little easier over the weeks so you get a bit of time before the twins come along. 

My weekend was lovely, although I am tired today because it was full on. Hoping my yoga will help me relax later tonight. I hit 27 weeks yesterday so officially 6 months and in my 3rd trimester, it feels so weird saying that but very exciting. I have a scan next Monday and can't wait to see my baby. 

Have a good day all X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie the double bugaboos are $1800 the singles are much less, about $600-900 depending on the model.


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## Rq120

2have - so sorry you and your little one are sick. Like I said I'm fighting a head cold and I feel like crap. I couldn't imagine trying to take care of a sick one right now. Today I was feeling so bad and so tired from the weekend I had a little cry session at my desk. I never cry, so it's feeling bad coupled with pregnancy hormones. I'm better now, lol.

Rebecca - Geez those stroller prices are expensive! We have infant car seats (with the handles) and we are contemplating buying a double snap and go from a friend for $20. We were given a double side by side stroller so if the snap and go works we might hold off on the stroller decision for a while and see what works for us. 

Fern - I'm so glad you got some progress on the house. I can understand the need to get a place set up for your little one. I'm feeling the stress to do the same, but I'm trying to be patient. I work next weekend and then that should be my last extra weekend. I told DH that I would stop working so we can focus on the room and getting the house ready. We have enough money stashed away to pay for the delivery bills next year as long as the babies are healthy and stay out of the NICU. That was the purpose of working extra so now its time to focus elsewhere. We also want to take a weekend or two to prep freezer meals some time next month. Lots to do! I couldn't imagine reno work on top of that!

Pinkie - You and I are on the same schedule (27 weeks, 1 day). Because full term is 37 weeks for me, Sunday was a 10 week countdown! Sounds crazy doesn't it!!


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## rebecca822

Rq I heard that the double snap n goes are super heavy to push. I feel like there's no good options!

Congrats on your 10 week countdown!!!
My 10 week countdown starts Friday. Yay!


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## 2have4kids

We love our UppaBaby Vista, it'll do very well with twins too. There's a twin mom with her eldest on the toddler chair and twins in bassinet on my FB twin chat group. Her eldest loves the skate board too. But I don't know if Uppababy is sold on Europe or Britain. Another lady on a different thread was asking this question as she's moving soon.
Edit: yes it is sold overseas, so we were told in that seperate thread.


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## rebecca822

2have I also have the vista and love it but unfortunately I have the earlier model and it can not really accommodate 2 babies. It's really only ideal for a baby and a toddler.


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> 2have I also have the vista and love it but unfortunately I have the earlier model and it can not really accommodate 2 babies. It's really only ideal for a baby and a toddler.

Yes they did redesign it last year making for a more versitile stroller. I think we'd have to agree to disagree when it carries 2 bassinets, or 2 click car seats, a bassinet plus toddler seat, or click car seat plus toddler seat, that's really perfect for 2 babies either the same age or different ages in my eyes. Britax and City Select are both almost the same just heavier, smaller wheels, and with longer wheel bases making for more difficult maneuverability. Unless you get the side by side stroller which I dislike. I don't want to have that wide, clunky, or heavy a stroller. It's like minivans, some mom's love them, some refuse to drive them...I'm one of those who refuse!


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## rebecca822

2have I'm similar to you I'm a minivan hater but after driving an SUV for the past 2 years I'm realizing how much more practical a minivan would be. I have 1 year left on my lease so chances are we will get a minivan after that. The stroller I picked out is a "clunky" side by side and I like that it's spacious for the babies. I feel like the city select and britax are a bit tight on space.

I woke up with a cold. I put in a half a day work but I'm going to lay down now and take the rest of the day off. If I don't sleep now I'm gonna wind up napping after work and then not being able to sleep the night.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - hope you feel better. I'm just getting over a head cold myself and I'm finally feeling a bit better today.


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## froggyfrog

It sucks that so many of you are fighting colds, I hope you all feel better soon!!


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## 2have4kids

If my sore throat doesn't go away by Friday I'm going into see the doctor. This will be going on 2.5 weeks. I felt hung over today with all of the bad news coming from the States. I'm just hoping it's a quick 4 years and that the Dems are smart enough to put someone in who'll stand a chance of winning before Trump bankrupts the country. The only good thing is his low tax policies for the uber rich will ensure interest rates stay very low here in Canada.


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## Pinkie3

Sorry to hear about everyone feeling poorly, and hope you all get better soon. The bugs are certainly going around here too. DH is still full of cold and feeling rough, he starts his new job next week so hope he is better in time for that. 

Rebecca, such a shame you can't use the uppababy. Can you sell it and put the money towards a new stroller? 

2have, heard really good things about the uppababy but unfortunately I could only find one store that sold them over here and it was not cheap.

RQ, I wasn't sure what a snap and go was so just goggled it. Is it just where you put the car seat on the wheels? If so, have a look into your car seat guidelines. I was going to do this and not bother with a carrycot etc but when I first starting looking into a system I went to the store and spoke to women running that section for advice. She told me that i should only use the car seat for travel and to not keep the baby in a car seat for any longer than two hours if I can as its not good for their spine and that a newborn needs to lay flat. I don't know if your car seats have different conditions over there but worth checking before buying from your friend.

Not much to report from me, I have been eating better in this last week which has been lovely, I have been having a proper meal in the evening instead of toast or cereal. We might have light at the end of my tunnel. As I have said many times before I can't complain because it's the only pregnancy issues I've had so know I have been very lucky. 

X


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie, they are pricey that's for sure. We got ours gently used as many of our baby things and it was at least 30% less than the store price. I appreciate good design being in the industry myself and am a bit snobbish this way with our purchases. I'm glad to hear you're eating better are you feeling less sick these days? Hopefully your DH is better soon!


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## rebecca822

2have sorry your throat is still sore, I agree it's time to see your doctor. Sore throats are worse than a cold because that can really keep you awake.

Pinkie I think we will probably try and sell the uppababy I just don't know how much we can get for it. Since they've come out with a much newer model with better features I feel like people are not interested in the older version. Maybe I can get $250 for it. It's definitely in great condition.
Glad to hear you're feeling better with the eating.


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## Rq120

Hi ladies. I have my OB appt in 3 hours. I leave work early today and then I'm off with DH tomorrow. Yay!! We are going to look for a dresser for the baby room (so I can start organizing some of the baby clothes!!) and go see Dr Strange at the theatre. 
After last weekend, I'm looking forward to a day off. Unfortunately, I also work the weekend at the hospital (prob my last one!). But, the hospital work is so different than what I do M-F that it isn't too bad. It just sucks that I have to wake up at 5:50 Sat/Sun.

Rebecca - hope you have a good appt and scan an your OB appt today too! I have to do the whole gamut today - ultrasound, doc appt, TDAP, glucose screening, rhogam, labs, paperwork for breast pump, and I'm going to ask about FMLA paperwork. We will see how long I'm at the office today! I'm trying to watch what I eat prior to my 1 hour glucose test. I have a chicken breast to munch on for lunch. Then I'm packing a protein bar for the way home if I need it.


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## Fern81

Sorry (again) for not being on much, work is still crazy and I'm hoping to update properly on the weekend. 

Rq- so thrilled that your babyshower was so nice!! Pics!

Stroller/pram- we got a perperego (I think that's what it's called!) travel system, also with car seat that can click out of it's base and into the stroller so you don't have to wake baby when taking them out of the car. I work from home and don't drive around much so he won't be spending too much time in it. We also have another pram.... I think it's a Manga or something (lol I'm useless!) It's stored in the garage, we got both prams and the car seat from my cousin for free which I'm sooo thankful for.

Hope you all don't suffer too much or too long with your colds and flu!! Flu season sucks, I was sooo sick in my first tri when it was flu season in RSA. Hugs!

My busy time of year is slmost done... 2 more days.... then work slows down CONSIDERABLY from Monday. Can't wait.


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## Fern81

Gl with the glucose test rq!

Pinkie- glad to hear you're doing better with your meals.


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## rebecca822

Good luck Rq, hope your appointment goes well.
I also have my glucose today along with a scan and OB visit.
Slept very poorly last night due to my cold.


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## froggyfrog

Good luck with your glucose ladies!! 

Not much to report over here. We have a chicco key fit 30 carseat and I'm getting the caddy that goes with it. It's similar to the snap and go, but specifically for the keyfit. I have a Graco stroller that was given to me that we will use when he is bigger.


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## 2have4kids

RQ that sounds like quite the line up of things to get done at the OB appointment, gl with it all.
Fern so glad to hear both work and renos are winding up. Third trimester will be really great to put those feet up and relax! Like me though in my downtime, you may have to figure out ways not to let DH get to you. It hasn't been too bad for us lately but we're still doing counselling, actually have an appointment today. 

Rebecca gl with your OB appt and sorry to hear your sleep was crap. I didn't have the super raw throat this morning but more congestion than anything and DH woke me as I was thrashing my arms around last night. I'm so exhausted I'm not waking up when my arms start throbbing, just thrashing now and it's waking DH up (oops). He was awesome about it though and gave me a massage.

How's everyone else doing? Anything exciting happening this weekend? We've got a dinner for mom's bday on Friday as well as an art market to attend. Then maybe I'll get to cleaning up and decorating the twins nursery this weekend. I've taken the week off next week so between decorating and hitting the gym and DD, my energy will be zapped. Have to find a way to get these arms to stop throbbing at night even if it includes dragging my sorry arse to the gym.


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## froggyfrog

2have, we don't have much planned. We will just be hitting the mall for some new boots for me and a new shirt for dh because next weekend we are taking our maternity photos. It's also my shower next weekend so super busy!! I think dh wanted to BBQ one night this weekend so that's probably going to be about all!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy that's REALLY exciting about your mat shots and shower, what fun! Good luck shopping and with the BBQ this weekend.

I did sort out the maternity & newborn shots with our photographer...we've decided to do hospital shots instead of more maternity shots. Is that crazy or what? I proposed it to her and said it might be really interesting to get a birth story in the ER with twins through the lens. She lives 5 minutes from the hospital and so when I start labour I'll tell her and update her when we go to the hospital. I have to OK it through my OB as we'll be in the operating room for twins with a schwack of staff. I think I"ll offer my doctor some professional shots of her at work, if I were a doctor I think that would be neat to have this on the wall. Scrubs delivering twins, in an artistic composition. It'll be exciting. I was a total mess with DD clinging to my bed rail hyperventilating with pain as my labour was so flippen fast and painful. So 'll follow my OB's advice and get in earlier to have the epi and hopefully have a better presence of mind and body through labour this time. My photographer usually charges $900 for 2 sittings (maternity & newborn) as well as a copy of the images and a digital keyfob for enlargements/copies. She gave us a discount though and it'll come to $720 for all of it (super happy about that).


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## elliecain

Hi girls. I don't post much, but I'm always reading and cheering you all on.
I can't believe I'll be 22 weeks tomorrow, it's getting towards the pointy end now! Exciting that so many of you are into third tri and going over birth plans etc. I see my midwife again in 2 weeks and then a growth scan 4 weeks after that, just before Christmas. 
Our nursery is looking so cute now! MIL gave us a load of blankets and other things at the weekend. She has knitted so many gorgeous baby clothes, I'm overwhelmed by how adorable they are.

Sorry a few of you have been ill. I have escaped the lurgy so far, but was off for a couple of days this week on doctor's advice, after heavy cramping on Sunday night.


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## rebecca822

Sorry I had a crazy afternoon. My OB appointment was good.
Babies are good and they moved again. A (girl) is still head down but B (boy) is now back to breach. My placenta issue has resolved however my OB still wants to do a C section I'm gonna discuss with him again in a few weeks.
I'll get the results of the glucose tomorrow.
I have an appointment on Wednesday with a lactation consultant. She will help prepare me for nursing twins, pick out my breast pump, and ordering a nursing pillow or any accessories I may need. 

2have that sounds like a really cool idea for a photo shoot, I hope you'll get awesome pictures!!
Ellie you're not too far behind :) nice that you're getting your nursery set up. I've gotten through all the stuff we've been storing in the nursery over the past few years. I have a pile to give away and a small pile for storage.
We have an exersize machine which needs to be moved to the basement and an extra bed in the room. Other than that the crib is ready to be built. I'm still up in the air about painting. Right now it's blue and I'm deciding if I should bother with repainting. I love my color selections I'm just not in the mood to deal with the hassle, smell, and mess of painting.

Happy shopping froggy, I hope you're successful and find the right boots and shirt. Can't wait to see your maternity photos!


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## Pinkie3

RQ, I hope your appointment went well? 

Froggy, enjoy your shopping trip. 

2have, your photo shoot sounds pretty cool. Is she prepared for being shouted at while you are trying to cope with labour ha ha? Enjoy doing the twins nursery this weekend, don't over it especially with you being so poorly recently. 

Ellie, nice to hear from you. Glad everything is going well and you are not too far behind the rest of us. I found once I got to 20 weeks time started going quicker. I love knitted clothes, I have hinted to my MIL as she is good with a needle. 

Rebecca, glad the appointment went well and good luck with the glucose results. I feel the same as you about our nursery, it's white and looks fine but could do with a fresh coat but I can't be bothered. We were going to get our painter to do it in a soft grey but I am reluctant to spend the money when we have so much to pay out for. We'll see, I might have a burst of energy when DH goes back to work. 

We got our tailored fabric set, canopy and footmuff for the carrycot and stroller delivered today, it looks so fab. I can't wait to put my newborn in it, it looks so cosy. We can use the carrycot for during the day and overnight sleeping too which is great as I can use it when we go visiting and also while I am downstairs, saves me bringing the Moses basket up and down everyday. I am getting excited about the smallest things at the moment.

Not sure what we are doing this weekend, we really need to test drive some cars, we looked at loads and narrowed it down to 3 and done nothing since. A bit nervous about leaving it too much longer as I need to look at car seats or baby won't be coming home!!

X


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## rebecca822

Pinkie good luck with test driving the cars. I hope you get something great! I'm going with the maxi cosi max 30 car seats. Nice modern design, safe car seats, decent price :)

I passed my glucose test. I wasn't too worried but I'm glad I passed and it's over with.

Have a great weekend everyone!


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## Rq120

Wow! So much going on here the last few days.

I'm gonna write and run today because I'm taking a quick break from my work. My MD apt was good. The babies measured 2.5 lbs each and approx. 1 week ahead. Doctor was VERY happy with that. I got my TDAP and now I have a huge, red, painful lump on my arm. I hope it goes away fast. I passed my glucose test so I was happy about that. They also tested me for anemia but didn't say anything about my results so I'm going to assume they are within normal limits. 3rd trimester tomorrow. Crazy how time is flying.

DH's cousin sent us the pics from the baby shower. They turned out great. I will post a pic of DH and me at the baby shower in the next reply.

Have a good rest of the weekend!!


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## Rq120

Pic from baby shower.
 



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## froggyfrog

Congrats on passing glucose test Rebecca and rq!

So happy to hear the previa has resolved Rebecca! That's great news!

Love the pic rq, and I LOVE the names!! I don't know that you had posted them yet, or maybe I just missed them.

We found dh the perfect shirt. It's a plaid, but small stripe plaid shirt. It has the exact color blue as my dress and grey lines with a white background, and he will wear a cabbie hat that matches the Grey stripes. Now all we need to do is find my boots!


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## Pinkie3

RQ, lovely picture of you and DH. Beautiful names too x


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## rebecca822

Ooh RQ I love the names!!
Congrats on the shower.


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## Fern81

Wow what a nice pic rq, looks like the family really went to a lot of effort to make the day memorable! And I also LOVE the names!!

Froggy- yay for a perfect mat shoot outfit, so exciting :). Hope you find your perfect boots!

Ellie belle, happy to hear from you and so glad you're still doing well. Time sure is flying!

Rebecca and rq- glad all your tests came back normal. One less thing to worry about for now.

2have - hope you get some rest this weekend between everything, and just a good night's sleep. Everything else is such a drag if sleeping is impossible. Glad to hear that counselling is still going ok. My husband and I'm living really separate lives and still sleeping in separate rooms. If he doesn't agree to counselling Idk how things will get better.

Pinkie- travel systems oh boy! We have all the free items but I can't work out how to use them &where all the clips and locks go haha! I had to google how to unlock the pram! So I'm also quite nervous about it and will have to figure out the details and practice before baby comes :). Gl with yours!!


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## Fern81

Anyone else have super clingy pets? My cats are both very attached to me (and I to them) but they're starting to be like velcro lol! If I go for a swim they sit at the edge of the pool and stare at me, they stand and whine at the door to the loo, sleep on top of me in this summer heat etc! They definitely know I'm pregnant and are going to have a hard time getting less attention when Baby is born!


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## Pinkie3

Fern, you tube have a lot of useful videos on how to use travel systems, people demonstrate how to put them together and get the best use out of them etc. I am definitely going to need a practice with mine. You should have seen DH and I trying to get it on the boot after we brought it, it was embarrassing haha. 

We don't have pets but I hear they do know you are pregnant. Hopefully they will love baby just as much as you and become his protectors. 

I hope everyone had a nice weekend, for some reason I have been feeling a little sick on and off the last few days, wondering if baby is moving a bit more and it's making me feel out of sorts? Who knows. I have my 28 week growth scan tomorrow, I am really looking forward to it.

X


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## rebecca822

Exhausting day today. Lots of errands and grocery shopping. I'm ready to pass out on the couch but I still need to bathe dd and get her to bed.
Took her to her first swim lesson today. It was a little tough she was crying for most of it but I think she'll get the hang of it soon! 
Good luck pinkie on your scan this week. I hope you feel good and your baby is going well.
Fern we don't have pets but I can imagine they for sure know there's something cooking :)


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## froggyfrog

Fern, my dogs already acted like that, but it has definitely gotten 1000 times worse! I have the babies room gated off so they can't go in there and they just sit that the gate and wait for me to come out. I can't remember the last time I went to the bathroom without one of them pushing open the door or sticking their paws under the door.


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## Pinkie3

Pets are so funny, whenever my sister comes to visit she brings her two dogs and when she goes to the bathroom they sit outside the door until she comes out. Not even her own kids use to do that ha ha. 

Rebecca, I hope you got a good night sleep and feeling better. I am sure a swimming lesson is a little daunting at first but hopefully DD will get to love it. 

We had our 28 week scan today, gosh my baby is so beautiful (biased I know!) we ticked every box, all of baby's measurements were bang on track, laying transverse but plenty of time to move, weighing 2lbs13oz. Urine and blood pressure perfect so everyone is really happy. We got to see the consultant too who discharged us from the clinic, feels strange that we have no more scans and next time I see my baby will be after it is born. Time to do some shopping :winkwink:

X


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## Fern81

Congrats Pinkie on a perfect little 28weeker, share some pics if you can! :). Are you feeling better? I'm curious as to why you won't be getting any more scans, how does it work over there? I'm getting scanned up till about 37 weeks, dr wants to check baby's position and where the cord is before making the final decision on whether to try naturally or whether she would advise an elective c-section. 

Froggy- oh gosh, do you have any plans for integrating your dogs with the baby dynamics? I've read some brilliant suggestions for how to integrate cats and newborns. Luckily my cats are friendly and not vicious at all, they handle my sister's kids and all my students very well.

How was everyone's weekend?

We moved back most of our furniture, yay! The new floor's finishing is not great, the builder did a really shoddy job. However, I got a beautiful large woven carpet from my mom as a gift, and bought 2 other ones (each about 2x3 m) and they cover sufficient floor area & most of the ugly areas on the floor. We will laminate the floors in a year or so; for now it's good and sturdy enough for a baby. A cleaning lady and 2 movers helped us clean and move the furniture and hang the curtains etc, in the 4 front rooms (dining room, lounge, small parlour and library). It looks great! And now I can get started on the nursery sooner than expected! We are still rebuilding the upstairs shower but hopefully it won't mean too much dust everywhere.


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## rebecca822

Pinkie- do they check your fluid levels at all via ultrasound before delivery? That's mainly the reason I had ultrasounds at the end of my pregnancy with dd. I am glad your LO is doing well and 12 weeks away from meeting it's mommy :)

Fern I'm so happy that your house is back in order. I would love to see pictures of your nursery once it has been set up.

Nothing to report over here. I have a company coming to pick up some clothing I'm giving away. Once I get that out of the nursery I can move out the extra furniture and set up! Yay! I've opted out on painting for now. I don't want to deal with the hassle.


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## Pinkie3

Fern, I could just about work out how to put a ticker on here let alone a picture ha ha. As standard practice we only get two scans in the UK, one at 12 weeks and one at 20 weeks unless you are a high risk and need regular checks for a medical reason. I've only had a number of scans so far because it was an IVF pregnancy and due to my history they wanted to offer me some reassurance. Now I will just continue seeing my community midwife every few weeks for check ups etc. Obviously if anything happens between now and my due date and my midwife feels like I need another scan then I will get referred back to the hospital. My midwife will check for baby position and when head is engaging etc. We also get a health visitor who will come to see me in a few weeks and they visit me after the birth too. It's funny how different countries work isn't it.

Rebecca, I had my fluid levels checked today and they said it was good but didn't mention anything about checking again before delivery. I will ask my midwife at my next appointment. I know they check again if it's low but don't know if it's standard. 

Fern, so happy you are finally getting sorted, it must be such a relief. Enjoy doing the nursery up. And yes if you are more technical than me post some pictures.

Rebecca, I don't blame you for giving painting a miss, especially if it looks good enough already. You sound a busy lady and I am sure it will look lovely once all the nursery furniture is is in there. I am think of getting pictures and stickers for the walls, to save me a job of giving it a coat. I think the cold weather here is putting me off. 

x


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## froggyfrog

Fern I'm so happy that your renovations seem to be coming to an end! Have fun setting up the nursery, I have finally finished ours.
I have read different ideas on getting the dogs used to the baby. They are both big dogs, but I have been out of work since we have gotten them, so they are just really attached to me. They are 2 and 1 1/2, so still very young and silly. I think it's going to be hard for them to not be the center of my attention so we started early getting them used to it. One of the things was blocking them from the babies room early on, we also moved their beds from the sides of our beds to the other side of the bedroom because the bassinet will be next to me. I wanted to start these things early so they don't associate the change with the baby, and it's the way it was long before the baby. I also started randomly playing baby cries on YouTube, and I have set the swings and bouncy seats off in front of them a few times so that they aren't shocked. I know for sure that I'm going to have to watch them around Gage's toys, because they are already trying to sniff around them, and love to tear up a good stuffed animal lol.


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca, I agree keep it as simple as possible!


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## elliecain

Pinkie great news about the perfect 28w scan. Congratulations!

I'm also UK based and I get 3 x 3rd tri scans due to having had IVF, at 28w, 32w and 36w. I'll also be induced by/at 40w. I was told that the risk of stillbirth is higher with IVF, so they like to keep a close eye on things later on and not let it go over. I'd assumed that was a national policy, but apparently yet another postcode one. Unusual for Somerset to be better than other places though... we are usually the black spot for all things fertility!


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## Pinkie3

Ellie, I think the risks are higher due to age (sorry!) rather than it being IVF. Please don't let them scare you about stillbirth although it does increase over 40 it's still relatively low. I have heard they will induce you before 40 weeks so this is great that they are keeping a close eye on you. Enjoy all the fuss because as you say sometimes with the NHS it's impossible to get anything done. I have a love hate relationship with our NHS but I have to say they have been brilliant with me during my pregnancy so far, it may help me restore some faith in them. X


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## Pinkie3

Oh by the way, I should mention I know you are not over 40 yet!! Lol. But mine was DE and she was 23 years old X


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## Rq120

Hi ladies. Sorry I haven't written much. I follow your updates, but I just haven't taken the time to respond to anyone individually. I have been battling this head cold off and on for a week or more. Today I am feeling pretty good and I hope it sticks!

Also, I had a horrible reaction to the Tdap vaccine. I got it last Thursday and I had a HUGE knot on my arm. It was really red and hot. The reaction is finally getting better and the knot is slowly going down. Couple this with a head cold....

DH and I are making some plans to get the babies' room together this weekend. They will sleep in our room initially, but we still need a place for their stuff/clothes. We ordered a dresser that will be here this week and I have washed most of the hand-me-down clothes. Now I just need to wash and organize the new clothes. That will be easier to do once we get the dresser.

Froggy - I hear you on the dogs. My dogs love babies so I'm not worried how they will react, but I totally feel you on the stuffed animals/toys. My boston terrier will destroy a stuffed thing in 5 mins flat. It will be interesting to both keep them away from toys and not to lick the babies to death.

Anyone else having trouble with appetite? I just have no appetite lately. DH has really been encouraging me to eat, but I just don't get much down at a meal time. And I'm not very hungry most days. It's funny because I'm a bigger girl and I have lost any love of food.


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## rebecca822

Rq I'm so sorry that you haven't been feeling well. i was really unwell last week but thankfully Sunday started an upwards trend.
Yay for the new dresser it will feel great to get things washed and organized!
I don't recall getting a tdap I wonder if I will have one. That sounds like a painful reaction I've gotten that once or twice with the flu shot.
What does your doctor say about not eating much? What about choosing foods that are high in protein so at least you can give the babies some healthy fuel. I would recommend eggs (haven't been able to stomach them myself in months). Eggs are small so you can eat 2-3 and maybe you won't feel too full from it.


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## froggyfrog

Rq, we have finally gotten the nursery done and everything washed and it feels amazing to be finished!! Have fun getting it all set up. I too haven't been able to eat much. I get full really fast. I guess everything is fighting for space in there. I agree with Rebecca on the high proteins. You can just make it a small snack that doesn't take up too much room. I found a great way to make eggs that I do almost every day. I use non stick inside of a muffin tin and Crack the eggs in there. You can dress it up however you want with cheese or anything and bake it at 350 for 22 minutes. It's really quick and simple. Sorry you had such a bad reaction to the tdap.

Rebecca, I would definitely ask about getting your tdap. 

Ellie, they took extra precautions for me too since I was ivf. I know it wasn't based off of my age because I'm only 29. They explained that ivf babies are just slightly higher risk for things like heart defects and just wanted to keep an eye on the baby. And then they found the previa, and my GD all combined makes me high risk now. I was told in the beginning that they wouldn't let me go past 40 weeks either because of the risk of stillbirth. But now they are concerned about going to long with the GD as well.

I'm 30 weeks tomorrow. It's such a milestone! So if previa doesn't resolve, I'll have my baby in about 6 weeks!


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## Rq120

Thanks ladies. I have been eating a lot of protein for breakfast. I do get full fast, but it's also a problem of appetite. Sometimes I just don't want to eat anything! I don't get hungry very often. Even if I have a snack or food in front of me I'm like "meh". But yes, I do try to eat lots of protein at meals. I usually do eat an egg or two in the morning. I don't have a problem stomaching food, just don't want it.

Froggy - so jealous that you have your nursery done. I can't believe you might have a 6 week countdown. That is crazy.
I didn't have any different monitoring because of IVF, but obviously I have extra monitoring because of the twins. I couldn't tell you what protocol they would have followed if it was only one baby.


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## elliecain

I will still be 39 when Finlo is born and so I'm not classed as "geriatric" yet. I am consultant led because of the IVF, not my age. It's in all my notes. I also have an AMH of 78.9 and was told my eggs are good quality, so I'm pretty sure my age isn't much of a factor anyway! The IVF was due to various immune issues.


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## Pinkie3

Ellie, sorry I didn't mean to offend you. I was just stating facts. 

Its the first time I have heard that IVF classes you as a high risk in pregnancy. I asked both my clinics about this while doing all my cycles and both said once pregnant you are no different to any other pregnant women.


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## Fern81

I'm also scanned for all the high risk issues due to IVF AND my age (turning 35 next week), dr explained in detail what all the risks are due to both and I found it really interesting. Yep, funny how different countries and even clinics have different policies. 

I'm going to ask that I be induced on his due date if he's not here before then. 

My appetite has also decreased dramatically, I started eating soups in the evenings when I don't feel like chewing anything! Are any of you ladies struggling to get 75g of protein each day?? Geez I eat meat and eggs daily, and oats, milk, yogurt almost daily. I also eat lots of nuts, peanut butter, seeded bread and cheese. Even so, when I add up all my daily protein it usually only comes up to 60ish grams. 75 is a LOT for me!


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## froggyfrog

It is crazy how different places follow different protocols. The important thing is that we all have really great care and are being looked after closely! 

Fern, I think we can only do the best we can. It's extremely hard to do. I'm finding it so hard to even eat everything I'm supposed to for my GD diet, so I make sure I finish my protein first, and then my veggie and if I still have room I'll finish everything else, but if I can't at least I feel like I'm eating good stuff, and my sugar won't spike.


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## rebecca822

Hi everyone. Ugh in so much pain the past few days. One of my babies has a foot in my rib cage and I'm so uncomfortable! I can't sit and only lying down helps but I can't lay down all day because I need to work!!
Then he/she kicks my rib cage, that's even worse. Ouch!!
Another 9-10 weeks for me and babies are only gonna get bigger :)

I'm thinking back to when I first got my BFP. I was on vacation in Phoenix on June 1. Seems like years ago


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## Rq120

Rebecca - hope the babies cooperate and stop making you uncomfortable. I feel babies everyday, but so far they haven't had crazy strong kicks in uncomfortable positions. Baby girl sits at the top and likes to press out. I feel her, but it isn't uncomfortable. Then I give her little rubs :)

Fern - I agree. I would do the best you can. I personally don't count protein. I have been so whatever about eating. I prob should pay more attention but I don't. However, the babies are growing great and the doc is happy.


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## Fern81

Thanks ladies. Froggy, good idea. Since reading your post I'm also now eating my protein and veg first. Hoping it can become a habit!

Rebecca- ouch I can imagine with twins having less space! How are you feeling today? 

Aaahhh it's so nice to be on semi-mat leave from Monday...I have wayyy fewer students now that most of their exams are done; most of the time I don't have to work and have saved up just enough to get me through Dec-March... although I will have to start working again ASAP after baby is born, I'm thinking of starting with one or two days a week and slowly add in more work instead of jumping from full mat leave into working full time. Having my own business and scheduling my own students will make that process easier... unfortunately we need my income so I can't wait too long before starting up again! I have no students today :) slept in (or tried to; dh put a Harry Potter movie on at full blast this morning at 7 when having his coffee, and then left the TV on when he left for work :dohh: ), went for a walk, had time to cook scrambled eggs and tomato for breakfast :) am now eyeing the swimming pool!! I need to unpack and move the rest of the furniture but meh, resting a bit this week!


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## rebecca822

Fern it's hard to tell since I'm still lying down. While I sit at work I'll know if the feet are still in my ribs :)
I actually think baby A may have turned because I'm feeling more body on the side than usual. I guess I'll have to see next week at my scan.
I have my growth scan on Wednesday next week so hopefully babies are growing nice and equally.

I met with the lactation consultant yesterday evening. She was lovely and very experienced. She encouraged me to order a hospital grade pump to rent so I filled out the paperwork for that. She told me that some insurance will also cover a personal breast pump since the hospital grade is not portable. I'm hoping my insurance will approve both. They're pretty generous so I'm thinking they will.
I also will order the my breast friend twin pillow. She gave me some nipple cream that is very natural and I'll need to have it while I'm still in the hospital. I had terrible cracked nipples with my nursing attempt with dd.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - my girl is always on my right side. I'm a bit lopsided - lol. Fortunately, she is not uncomfortable to me yet. I'm glad you had a good visit with the lactation consultant. I got a very gently used Breast Friend Twin pillow for $10 off a twin facebook group. They have an active multiples facebook group in my area and the ladies are off the chart awesome!

Fern - enjoy your semi-leave time and rest while you can. I'm a bit jealous :) I am planning on working until the babies come or until I'm unable. The good thing is I work at a desk job and if I need I can work from home. 

This morning I work up to a song called From the Ground Up. It is such a sweet song and put me in a good mood. It's about building a family and growing old together. I sent the you tube video to DH this am and then I sent these (edited)lyrics. The capitalized parts are parts I changed for twins. lol

Me and you baby, walk in the footsteps
Build our own family
One day at a time
TWENTY little toes, a painted GREY room
Our beautiful BABIES look just like you 

Tonight we meet with the L&D nurse to get pre-registered for the hospital and discuss a birth plan. Our hospital has such a cool program called Monogram Maternity where they offer classes, tours, and meeting with a nurse. Usually you don't meet with the nurse until later (32-36 weeks) but with twins they like to meet earlier.


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## rebecca822

Aww Rq how sweet. So happy the song put you in a good mood.
Baby is not bothering me as much today but usually it starts hurting more towards end of the day after all the sitting.


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, sorry to not have checked in, it's been a busy week off. Cleaned house, am at work attending a baby shower now, doing up the twin nursery at home this week, finishing off Mack's swim lessons, and we have some art markets to attend tomorrow. 

I've not been eating much, have to say the appetite just isn't there and I'm too tired to make food all the time. Tired of take out, just struggling with that lately too.
I picked up 2 gently used twin nursing pillows last week. The first is the Baby buddy half moon and the second is the twin Z pillow. I like these two because they're super soft. I had the breast friend single for MacKinley and it was a hard flat surface. I hated it and wound up using soft down pillows for her. It sat too low as well because of the flat surface. But it's rated the best nursing pillow so I think like most things, pillow preferences are fairly personal.

Fern I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the slow down. Do relax and I hope you can avoid the DH/arguments and really enjoy your last tri. I am struggling with getting enough protein in, I cheat and have chocolate protein milkshakes, there's 25g of protein in one of those. I eat so sparsely some days I wonder how the babies are getting bigger? Yesterday I felt like hurling after 2 small pieces of gluten free bread with peanut butter. Then I had a bowl of borscht soup at 4pm and some fruit and cheese and a protein shake a little later. 

RQ sounds like you're getting set up, your hospital program sounds great!

Froggy it must feel nice to have everything ready to go! Good on you for sorting through everything before too long.

Ellie, where I live as long as you're over 35 you're considered high risk. They won't let you go a day over your due date and they keep closer tabs on you. Most times midwives won't take you on, they prefer us to be under OB care. I'm used to being 'special' with immune issues, blood clotting issues, fertility issues, having GD, having DE and donor embryo ivf's, and now twins...I understand the fuss and glad to have the extra care.

Rebecca my right lower rib feels constantly bruised. I'm glad to hear you're not in so much pain now but I feel for you as they become bigger in your third tri! One of them is usually up and transverse with feet kicking in my ribs-not fun! 
The Spectra breast pump is hospital grade, pumps the quickest and quietest out of many others and portable. I got mine brand new off ebay for $82 and they generally retail for $350. There are ways of getting the hospital grade without having the clunk! https://www.babygearlab.com/Breast-Pump-Reviews/Spectra-Baby-USA-S1-Hospital-Grade

AFM, DD's last swimming lesson is tonight thankfully. I hate the cold water and it's always a pain in my back with carrying her so much. DH did all of last week since I was sick so this is my week to finish off. I have a scan tomorrow for growth. We have DD's vaccinations booked for Dec 2 and I think we'll all get the flu and I'll request the whooping cough vaccine too (here in Canada it's not mandated as it is in the USA but one can always request it). They say this is good for inoculating babies with your breast milk if done in 3rd tri. I've cleaned house and made some healthy food but not really tackled the twin nursery yet. That's my job this afternoon and on the weekend. It shouldn't take long really, just some cleaning up and moving furniture which DH will help with. Sleep is still horrible with numb arms. I had a massage and got a pedi and sat in the massage chair for an hour yesterday and still slept crappy. Oh well, only another 90 days to go! :bunny:

I'm booking another wax for my delivery. Last time they took too much off and I felt a little exposed so I'll just ask for the min which is still pretty drastic at the Frilly Lilly salon that I go to. I usually do it myself for swimming but when I attempted it last weekend for some reason it was so painful and I could barely see anything...best left for professionals at this point lol. Anyone else booking a wax?


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## froggyfrog

2have, I hope you can get everything done soon so that you can relax before the babies come. It sounds like your super busy. Glad to hear that swimming lessons will end! I would think the water would feel good to your back though. Take some weight off. I have continued to get waxed throughout this pregnancy. It's way too hard to try to see what's going on down there. I sometimes wonder if anything is even still there since I can't see and I can't use it! Lol! I'll be booking them for every 4 weeks probably forever. It's so nice not to have to worry about grooming! 

I have been having horrible hip pains, especially after a busy day. It feels like someone is stabbing a knife through my hips. It carries on through the night too so I'm constantly flip floping around trying to get comfortable. I also get super dizzy when standing too long. Dr said that's a form of syncope, which I already have without being pregnant. I guess the baby presses on the vena cava and the blood doesn't return as quick to the upper half of the body causing a drop in BP. So I'm able to do less and less lately.


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## Fern81

Aaww rq that is just too sweet! Hope you enjoyed your hospital visit. 

Froggy- eeekk your pain sounds horrible! Is chiro or physiotherapy an option for you? Ouch :( only a few more weeks.... good for you for having basically everything sorted out in the nursery though.

2have - so are you finally better? Colds and flus suck sooo much and then they last forever. Yep I'm planning on getting a wax next week, haven't booked my appointment though lol! I'm so scared that they're going to hurt me, I'm used to doing it myself but obviously I haven't been able to see or reach much for a few months now!! 

Hope everyone else is doing well. Praying and Nimbec, haven't heard from you in a while and hope all is ok!

We have our 8 hour prenatal class tomorrow. They will be covering natural birth and c-section in detail, as well as newborn care. Since I'm NOT planning on having dh or anyone else with me while I give birth (unless it's a c-section), he doesn't really need to attend the sections of the class dealing with birth... except maybe to understand why I will be sore and bleeding for a few weeks afterward! Maybe he will get some perspective and sympathy lol. I was having horrible BH yesterday morning and could barely breathe; he was like "oh you should just do more crunches to strengthen your core muscles"... uhm... yeah.


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## Fern81

Oh by the way I learned the hard way how good a diuretic broccoli is hahaha!! I cooked a whole kg of it last night, to freeze in portions. So I had some for dinner and drank the cooking water just before going to bed (I drink the water that I boil veggies in sometimes; and this lot had only cooled down enough by about 9pm). 
Well I had to get up to urinate 11 times!! :) :) what a disaster! And upon researching it this morning, found out that broccoli is a natural diuretic. I've never really had that problem with it before but maybe the diuretic substance leaches out during cooking, and I got a kilogram's worth from my concentrated glass of cooking water!


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## rebecca822

2have I'm glad your dd swimming is over so you can take a break. I did not plan on doing a waxing I usually shave down there which keeps things neat and clean. My rib is definitely a bit better since Wednesday so I am grateful for that!
Good luck on your scan please update us!
Froggy I'm so sorry about your pain, have you tried physical therapy? In my 8th month with dd I was in so much pain and limping around and my Dr kept telling me to go for PT. Finally I listened to him and I was cured after just one session. My hip was out of alignment and all she did was realign my hip and I was good as new! 
Lol fern that's a tough learning experience! I've had many nights when I was up every hour to pee.


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## Rq120

Fern - your DH sounds like a butt. Telling you to do crunches.....
My stomach muscles are separating due to the babies and my OB said so as little with my stomach muscles as possible. The more I use them the more they will separate.
Good luck with your class this weekend.

Sorry that everyone is having hip/back pain. I am super lucky that I lost a lot of weight before getting pregnant so the extra weight isn't taking too much of a toll on me. I do get some pain low in my belly/groin, but my hips and back are spared for the most part. I do have trouble with shortness of breath sometimes. But I think that is something we all will have!
Either way, even without the pain I'm flopping around like a fish at night. It just isn't comfortable to be in a position longer than an hour or two. And I pee at least 4 times at night. Oh the joys of pregnancy :)

I think I am starting to get some Braxton hicks. I'm trying to make sure to stay hydrated. I have been getting some tightening in my lower belly or upper belly. Nothing that hurts, just tightening.


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## froggyfrog

I haven't asked about physical therapy. I'll bring it up at my next appointment and see if there is something she recommends. 

Rq, I think since I'm still holding on to only a 5 lb gain, the rest of my body is getting smaller while my belly is getting bigger is what is causing so much havoc. I'm sure my body doesn't know what's going on. I'm with you on the Braxton hicks! It was a little freaky feeling at first!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy wow only 5 pounds, well done! I'm up to 21 pounds now. I put a max of 30 when I started, we'll see if I can maintain that. It's easy when food seems unappetizing at the moment. I'm sorry to hear about your hip pain, chronic pain is so draining. Thankfully my arms are only horrible at night, it's still got me counting down the day. 
The cold is gone now Fern thankfully but the arms, carpal & cubical tunnel is a friggen disaster. I got maybe 3 hours sleep last night. Physiotherapy is great for hip & back stuff but my budget is blown this year for perimedical. I have 1 more massage booked for Dec and it won't be covered by my health plan. Jan starts fresh thank goodness!
I can't believe he told you to do crunches for BH:haha: he's precious isn't he! You're not having anyone there for the birth? Does DH know this? How are you going to get your transport? I think I'd do the same in your case if I wasn't trusting of family or DH. I also have lots of gf's but none that I consider close enough that I'd want there. I hope you're able to check in with us when it happens for you and let us know how it went/how it's going if it's prolonged.
Rebecca I can't shave that area, the ingrown hairs are horrible if I shave! Does this not effect you too? I've been waxing since I did synchro, platform diving, and life guard/teaching certs as a teenager. Always being in the pool I had to find a solution and I didn't have the dosh to pay for wax salons so I had to do it myself. You're very lucky if you don't get them!! 

Hopeful to sleep a little better tonight. DH is on night duty with DD so doing a dance for the sleep gods to rain some serious sleep on me!

Pinkie how are you doing? Having a good weekend?

Nimbec & Praying yes we haven't heard from you ladies, Beemack either. Hopefully everyone's doing well!


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## Fern81

Antenatal classes were great and dh was a champ today. The midwives at the hospital who presented the lectures, seem SO nice, they actually made me look forward to the birth process whereas I have just been feeling petrified before. After the classes were finished I became soooo nauseous and overtired (haven't slept for two nights; first the silly night with urinating every 30 minutes and last night my stupid neighbour kept us up with his NOISE and shouting all night long urgh). And feeling very emotional & overwhelmed after seeing all the baby stuff and info... I'm just a crying and emotional mess right now and dh's really been treating me well today. So grateful. He put me in bed and brought me water and even went to find my cats and brought them to cuddle me. Idk, seems like today was a big dose of reality for both of us. Hope it brings us closer!

Oh I just don't want anyone in with me for the pushing-baby-out-part. Dh can be there during labour and after baby and placenta is born and I'm cleaned up, he can come back in. I just really don't want anyone there for the gory part, just the medical staff. 

2have - hope you get a LONG night's sleep!! Glad your illness is gone, sorry that the unpleasant arm sensations are not going away. :/

Rq- I remember you saying that your relatively easy pregnancy is such a blessing and it makes up for the pain and suffering of endo :) it makes me happy to hear that and I hope it continues! 

Have a great weekend everyone xx


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## rebecca822

2have I hope you had a good night sleep since DH was caring for dd. Dd and I just got over nasty colds and literally 2 days later she's sick again! She was up all night crying and coughing the poor girl! She was supposed to have a swim lesson this morning but I will call and cancel when they open.
Wow froggy im a bit jealous as I'm almost at 30 lbs yikes!
RQ I find that sleeping on my side is the most comfortable and I have a memory foam mattress so my stomach has a place to sink in. I do flip back and forth from side to side a bunch of times but I've been relatively comfortable sleeping. 
Fern sorry you were feeling unwell after classes but I'm so glad DH took care of you!

DH is leaving the country this morning for a 5 day work trip. I'm terrified something will happen when he is away. I don't mind being alone with dd I'm just scared of going into labor and he's a 14 hour flight away!


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## Fern81

How are you doing all on your own Rebecca? We both have scans on Wednesday, yay!

Have a great week all!


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## Rq120

I had an exciting Friday. At the end of the day my coworkers threw a surprise baby shower for me. It was amazing. So many coworkers showed up and I had so many gifts. They decorated one of the conference rooms and had cake and punch. My coworkers gave me a lot of necessity stuff so it was nice to have a lot checked off my list (ie mattress pads, crib sheets, bottles, etc). One coworker made each baby a homemade quilt. It was something quite special.

Saturday, DH put our new dresser together and moved some exercise equipment out of the nursery room. We moved a loveseat in the room and will try to make it cozy so I have a private area upstairs. Right now everything is in the room, but it is a huge mess. I will try to do a little each night until the room is ready. 8 week countdown. I better get moving...

Sunday I bought a Moby wrap from a twins resale group on facebook. I have some lower belly pain some nights when I lay down. I was hoping that wrapping my belly would make me more comfortable at night. Last night I was pretty comfy, but I'm still battling this head cold so I didn't sleep the best because I was hot and stuffy. 

MD appt today. I'm now on the every two week schedule. I'm not expecting an ultrasound this visit. Just a Doppler and a check up. Hopefully I can make it at work until 3:15 when I leave for my visit. I'm tired, stuffy, and I have no concentration.


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## froggyfrog

I hope you have a good appointment today rq! 

We had such an amazing weekend. Our shower was so much fun. I got so many diapers and wipes it was great!!! We got a lot of hood gift cards that I have already almost used up last night. I went on an ordering spree from Target since they have free shipping right now. 

Our maternity session turned out awesome. We had so much fun taking pictures. I'll post some of them in a minute!


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## froggyfrog




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## froggyfrog




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## froggyfrog




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## froggyfrog

Those are just a few of my favorite ones. We got I think 27 good ones! 

I'm also battling really bad allergies right now and my nose if completely stuffed! It's causing so much pressure in my head. Ugh.


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## rebecca822

Fern - I survived day 1 with DH gone. Yesterday was the hardest because it was a full unstructured day. Went with my mom and dd to the science museum and had a great time. Dd didn't sleep well because of her nasty cold. She's in school so the rest of the week will be much easier. Yay for Wednesday :) for both of us!
Rq that is just so nice of your coworkers im so glad that you got great gifts! Good luck today at your appointment.

Froggy sorry about your allergies! Those photos are beautiful you will cherish them forever.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca sorry about dd having a cold, I hope she gets better soon.

Fern that's great news about your DH being a champ in the classes, so glad to hear that. We all want and need support these days and it's super reassuring that he'll be there for you in your most difficult moments too.

Yay for Wed scans ladies!

RQ & Froggy lovely to hear about your showers, sounds like SO much fun! Froggy your maternity pics look awesome, I love that bridge shot, so romantic!

Ellie how are you doing? Praying and Pinkie everyone else I hope you're doing well ladies!

Well I had an US last week Thursday and the lady confirmed for me that we're having 2 girls. DH has no idea that I know and it'll stay that way! So it'll be a gaggle of girls in our home. I asked him if it's 2 girls would he like to keep trying and see if we can get a natural maybe a boy and he said yes of course. Chances are less than 5% that another natural would happen but the pressure is off now and we'll just keep trying & having fun. 

The sonographer drew a nice picture for me of the girls, the placentas are on either side and they were both head down and ready to go and within an ounce of each others weights (we're up to 2 pounds 5 ounces and 2 pounds 6 ounces this week). She said everything is perfect, uterine thickness still over 4 with babies looking great, snug & secure. 

I had a chance to clean out the second baby nursery and bring up a bed to add to DD's room. The twin's nursery looks lovely now and grandma came over to babysit while we caught a flick on Sunday. The Arrival was a great movie, made me cry with the delivery of the baby...these things never used to effect me but now anything kid stuff especially sick kids really pull on my heartstrings!

I've figured out part of my carpal tunnel / cubital tunnel issue. I'm SO low in potassium, compared to all of the sodium in the foods we eat we're meant to be getting 4500mg of potassium to counter sodium, help expel water, and protect nerve function. I noticed swelling in my feet for the first time ever so I picked up some potassium supplements and the swelling has gone down substantially and my sleep was 90% last night! I also got some magnesium caps, I had powder for my tea and it put me off tea :haha: as it has a slight taste to it that I really don't like. So things are really looking up!

I have an OB appointment this week Thursday and the plan is to ask permission for to have my photographer in the operating room for the delivery. I really hope she says yes. And Pinkie, no, I didn't yell at anyone the first time lol as I really couldn't catch enough breath to shout between the hellish contractions:rofl: This time, I'm going to get in there earlier so I can have an epidural so that I don't have to go through the entire night in intense pain. It only kicked in 1/2 hour before I delivered and it was such a relief I was happily cracking jokes with the nurse from then to delivery. I'd hope to have more of that sort of happy time on camera than the clenched jaw, tears & blurry vision, hyperventilating-me clutching-for-dear-life-to-the-siderails-of-my-bed shot. Not a very appealing picture!


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## rebecca822

Omg 2have!! Can't believe it's 2 girls and I'm shocked that you'll be able to keep it from DH. How awesome!! Yay!!!


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## Fern81

Froggy, I can't believe I forgot it was your shower and photo shoot this weekend! I LOVE your pics. The setting is so idyllic and the photographer really captured how happy you guys are. Shower pics next please ;).

Rq- what a wonderful surprise!! And best of all that you got so many practical gifts. 

2have - well that sounds good, hope you have more restful nights from now on. And congrats again on the girls :) they're all going to be great friends! Just let me know when you'd like me to update the front page.

So sorry to hear that many of you are suffering with airway infections and stuffiness. I had 2 colds (one was really horrible) when I was in first trimester (it was winter here) and I can just imagine how uncomfortable it must be in third tri when breathing and sleeping is already difficult.


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## 2have4kids

Hi Fern, you can update the front page anytime. I will just leave my siggy the same incase DH looks at the baby dating information. We both like looking to see how big in vegetable size babies are and I'd hate for him to see two pink storks:haha:

Well, I've found an easy breakfast to start with that gives me loads of protein. Muscle milk or milk 2 go sport both have 25g of protein, low sugar & carb and are very easy to drink. On Saturday I hurled so hard again after breakfast, it left my voice hoarse for the rest of the day. 

I'm really irritated with my little sister. We announced DD's birthday date a month and a half before so that family could plan to be there and she chose to go to the mountains instead. Now we're doing family Christmas photos with our maternity/newborn photographer on Sunday and she'll be out of town for that too. Before MacKinley was born she was always complaining that we didn't invite her to any family events, which simply wasn't true, and here we're in the same situation where she says she can't be there for everything even though I know she really loves her niece. We're going to have grandma there anyway and that should be good. I didn't reply to her when she said she couldn't make it. I have no words beyond disappointment.

How are you ladies doing today? Are we almost all in third tri then? Maybe myself and a few stragglers?


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## froggyfrog

Fern. I tried to upload shower pics, but it wouldn't let me. I will have to try later from the computer or ipad. 

We have a scan next week at 32 weeks, and that will kind of determine whether baby is coming early or not. My mfm said that if it doesn't move by then, then it probably won't move. I can't believe that we are looking at possibly meeting our baby in 5 weeks! What kind of baby monitor are you guys using? This has been the hardest for me to pick out because every single one I have seen has just as many bad reviews as it does good reviews. This is the last thing that I have left to get, and can't make up my mind. If I don't get it immediately it's not a big deal, because I don't think he will be in a room without me for a while. His bassinet has wheels in it so I can just bring him from room to room.


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## froggyfrog

Congrats on the girls 2have! How exciting! That would be really great if you could get your boy. Do you not have frozen embryos left? I can't remember how many of us had extras frozen. Sorry to hear about your sister, I hope she can realize that she is missing out on this stuff and can't get it back.


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## 2have4kids

Hi Froggy, that's what my colleague said, the mountains will always be there, first birthdays, not so much. Family photos, not so much. We're not going to have this done every year, next year is the last time for Christmas photos unless we get lucky with another baby which is unlikely. We did donor embryos Froggy, after 6 failed attempts at regular and DE ivf I went to a really renowned clinic in Czech republic and had 2 donor embryos put back as did 3 other B&B friends of mine who are now with twins (one just went back last week for her second set of donor embryo twins). They matched our profiles very very well and had perfect expanded hatching blasts. So we'll only try for a boy naturally and it's very unlikely to happen.

This is the baby monitor a friend and I have. She just had her baby Nov 5th and we're still using ours with DD here at 14 months. It's rated very well and not overly pricey. I really didn't want a video monitor, it adds too much light to the room, the little green light on this monitor was easy to tape off and now during nap or night time DD's room is completely backed out. Otherwise her eyes focus on the pin of light coming through and she never sleeps. My monitor came with 2 pads though so that when they start rolling you can still have full coverage of the crib.
https://www.amazon.com/Angelcare-De...2&keywords=angelcare+monitor+with+2+pads&th=1


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## rebecca822

Froggy 5 weeks is so soon! Yay!
We used a cheap safty 1st monitor. Was about $30 and the sound is perfect. 
We also bought a dropcam to use as a video monitor as an extra so we can see if baby was up or sleeping. Worked great but was expensive. Also you need to be actively looking at your dropcam app in order to see and hear baby which is why we opted for a regular old fashioned monitor as well.

2have I'm really sorry about your sister that's upsetting! 

Baby A (girl) was taking a break from kicking my ribs for a few days and was breech but baby moved again and is back in my rib. Super painful I can barely sit! Otherwise I'm feeling great and really anxious to meet the babies!
Nursery is coming along well. Almost have it compete.


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## Rq120

Froggy - your pics turned out beautiful! I'm glad your shower went well. I am trying to organize what I have from our two showers before buying anything else right now. LOL. I have been stuffy also lately. It can go away anytime now.

Rebecca - I'm glad day 1 w/out DH went ok. Hoping the rest of the days go smoothly for you.

2Have - so happy you had a good US report. Your DH is going to be so surprised when he finds out he is having two more girls. :)
Glad to hear the potassium helped!

A woman on our infertility support group is getting into photography and she is doing holiday mini photo sessions for $60. I signed up to get one this weekend and I made sure my visibly pregnant belly wouldn't bother her. It bothers some women who are dealing with infertility more than others. She said it bothered her at the beginning of her journey but now that she is finding other passions (ie photography) she isn't bothered now. I'm glad because it is an affordable session, I can get a photo w/ my bump, it supports her passions and a way to cope with her infertility, and we might take one of the photos and make a Christmas card to mail out this year.

I am leaving early for work today. My old man dog has an ear infection and the ear drops from his last infection are not cutting it for him. He is still periodically yipping in pain when laying/standing and no one is around him. Time to bring in the experts to make him all better.

My OB appt went well yesterday. No problems to report and the heartbeats on the Doppler were good. The doc said "You have had a beautiful pregnancy". So far the plan is to attempt a vaginal delivery and they will induce if I don't go into labor by 38 weeks. Next appt is in 2 weeks w/ an ultrasound for growth measurements. 

So far the moby wrap at bedtime is working great. It has helped to relieve a lot of the pain/pulling I'm getting when laying down on my side. Today I'm feeling a little better and some of the stuffiness and head pressure is gone.

My goal for the next week is THANK YOU CARDS! I have written 14 already and I counted last night and I have 50 to go!!!! So much love for these babies. I'm going to try for 7-10 cards a night and be done by the next 5-7 days. Whew!!


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## 2have4kids

Rq sorry to hear you're still feeling under the weather. It's great to hear you're making thank you cards. The shower that we hosted for a friend in Sept and a colleague at work, not to mention the 2 birthday parties we attended from MacKinley's baby & birth class had no thank you's to anyone. We do them for every birthday party. If oeople can spend time & money on a gift as well as make it to the party, they are very deserving of thank you notes. This is a total pet peave of mine!


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## froggyfrog

Lol rq, thank you cards can be a pain sometimes. I have mine out with my address list sitting on the bar, I just have to make myself fill them out. What exactly do you do with your moby? I have a moby too. Are you using it as a belly support? How do you wrap it?


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## rebecca822

Rq glad the wrap helped a bit. You will be done your cards in no time!

I ordered a nursing pillow today. Anyone has a recommendation for a pump holder that I can wear over my bra? I need to support of my nursing bras so the pumping bras are not good alone I'm looking for something to wear on top of my bra to hold the pump so it can be hands free.
Apparently my insurance might cover a rental of a hospital pump and a personal Madela pump. Waiting for them to process the claim but the place I'm renting from said that my insurance will most likely cover both. Yay!


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## Fern81

Uuhh I'm so upset, my baby's growth is almost off the charts so now I have to be tested for GD. If I test positive it means that it's already influenced his growth. I don't even care at this stage if I end up sick, just so worried that I messed up his pancreas or his growth or gave him diabetes :(.
Added to that I have a urinary tract infection & am on meds now. 
Not my best OB appointment.


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies, sorry I haven't been on here. I have been really busy and hardly at home, my calendar is full until Christmas but I am not complaining it's fun stuff and keeping me busy. Everyone is trying to see me before baby is born, I am not sure why, its not like they are never going to see me again? Nothing to report on the baby front, everything is going well. 

I hope I can catch up properly at some point but just wanted to say I hope everyone is ok and been thinking of you. 

Fern, I am sorry about the GD, please don't be upset with yourself, you did not do this on purpose and I am sure LO is going to be just fine.

2have, congratulations on the girls, I think it's lovely. DH might be overwhelmed with hormones but hopefully they will have such a close bond. 

Will jump on again when I can X


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm sorry! Let us know how your OB appointment is.

Today is appointment and scan day for me, and for Rq too I think. 

Pinkie glad you're keeping busy that's the best distraction for the wait.


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## froggyfrog

Fern, I'm really sorry, and hope that he is just measuring big, or that their measurements are a bit off. If you do test positive for GD, it's important for you to remember that it's definitely not your fault. It's the fault of the placenta. Some people's just cause more insulin resistance than others. I'm sure that baby is just fine! When will you do your test?


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> Rq glad the wrap helped a bit. You will be done your cards in no time!
> 
> I ordered a nursing pillow today. Anyone has a recommendation for a pump holder that I can wear over my bra? I need to support of my nursing bras so the pumping bras are not good alone I'm looking for something to wear on top of my bra to hold the pump so it can be hands free.
> Apparently my insurance might cover a rental of a hospital pump and a personal Madela pump. Waiting for them to process the claim but the place I'm renting from said that my insurance will most likely cover both. Yay!

https://www.amazon.ca/Simple-Wishes...913592&sr=8-1&keywords=hands+free+pumping+bra

This is the one I bought on a recommendation from another b&b lady as it's the most adjustable pumping bra on the market and not overly pricey. I have a small ribcage but the boobs are out of control big especially when I'm nursing (GG) and can't fit normal bras. So I got this one in black and it was fantastic! Grab the baby, snack, tv remote, or ipad and relax.


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie enjoy all of your events and time with friends up till Christmas. 

Fern, a B&B friend of mine had twins over 8 pounds each and induced early due to high blood pressure. Her babies were definitely effected by GD despite early detection, managing with insulin, and all of her efforts to eat a low carb healthy diet throughout the pregnancy. Her girls were massive for their gestational dating they were perfectly fine. The most likely thing that's happened is your baby has got big but as for damaging organs or having diabetes...highly unlikely! Your baby *may* have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life because this is very genetic. If you're sensitive to sugar it would make sense that your baby may be as well - but not because you've done major damage to your baby. My GP explained diabetes to me...we all have so many beta cells that produce insulin in our pancreas - it really varies person to person as genetics and diet are both involved. When these cells get used up from eating too much sugar or if you simply have a very small amount of these insulin producing cells (I mean some kids are diabetic so there are genetic factors at play), that's it! You need to go on insulin. So overall it's good to not allow children to eat too much sugar thoughout their younger years and keep a low sugar diet yourself as you don't know when you're going to be at risk of hitting the end of these insulin producing cells. Pregnancy wreaks havok on our systems making us more sensitive and less able to cope with poisons (sugar & carbs are not the easiest nutritional element to deal with). Fats and proteins don't use up insulin the same way that carbs and sugary foods do, and they also keep you full for longer (fats protect your organs, skin, hair, proteins feul the brain, repair muscle and maintain your muscle mass whereas carbs are pure feul so hopefully we're very active when eating carbs as they spike your insulin which packs the converted unused sugar away into fat stored on your body) that's why so many women have a hard time keeping slim on high carb, low activity diets. You sound very very active but pregnancy takes a toll on the best of us. I'm super sensitive to sugar every time I get pregnant - makes me very sick. It's made me very aware to be careful of my diet going from my 40's into the later years so that I don't hit that wall where I have to start taking insulin and run out of beta pancreas cells. But the most important thing is that you get diagnosed and you've still got quite a while before baby will arrive so you can do easy switches from oatmeal to eggs or toast to high protein greek yoghurt etc or take insulin to bring the glucose levels down and have baby not get too chubby. They are resiliant little critters, don't blame yourself! xx


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## Fern81

Thanks so much for the support! It can go either way I suppose. There is diabetes on my side of the family but huge baby boys on dh's side of the family. My MIL had to have c-sections with all 4 her boys because they were too big for her to give birth naturally. She says she also had to have many GD tests because her babies were so big but she never had the condition. I'm really hoping and praying my son just takes after his dad size-wise.... and that my pancreas do NOT take after my dad and my sister's. 
I'm doing a 2hr glucose tolerance test tomorrow morning at 8; 75g of glucose. 
Will let you all know when I get the results! 

2have and froggy- If I do have GD I'm going to lean on you for some meal plans!

The rest of the ultrasound was nice though... I got about 10 3d pics again as well as 4x 4d videos. He was yawning and sticking out his tongue and waving& kicking a lot. And he has a lot of straight hair already. 

How was your scan Rebecca? 

Pinkie- enjoy the time with friends and the freedom to just get up and go out without having to tote a million baby things with you ;).


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## Rq120

Froggy - yes I am using the moby wrap to wrap my belly at night. When I lay down I get some pain. What I am assuming is ligament pain from the weight shifting. If you look on youtube you will find all sorts of videos on belly wrapping. My DH and I tried a few different techniques until I found one that I liked and was comfortable for me.

2Have - yes I'm big on thank you notes also. It was ingrained during my childhood. I always send them. I'm going to a bakery this weekend and I'm going to buy some fancy cookies wrapped all pretty in a bakery box for the three ladies that hosted my work surprise party. I'll write them a special thank you note. 

Fern - sorry to hear about the bad news. Not a good appt at all :(

For all of my US counterparts - Happy Thanksgiving. I again am working at the hospital. We don't do Thanksgiving dinner until 6pm so I will work 7-3:30 and make time and a half. Also, someone else gets to spend Thanksgiving with their family. It's a win-win.


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## rebecca822

2have thank you I will look at buying that bra.
Scan was good. Baby A measures 2.11 and baby B is 2.13.
They confirmed that there are actually 4 legs in my ribs. Ouch ouch ouch!!!


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## Fern81

Glad your scan went well Rebecca, sheesh no wonder you are in pain! :)

My son is already an estimated 3,85lb! (1,75 kg). Reeeaaallly hoping he just takes after his dad. I am currently lying down in the clinic, having just had the 75g glucose yuck gross. Shame my baby is kicking like crazy from all this sugar...


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## 2have4kids

FX that it all goes well Fern!


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## Fern81

Thanks 2have. The test itself sucked but I didn't get too sick, just felt disgusted by the drink and uncomfortable on the clinic bed lol. I got home, ate some protein, exercised, then half an hour later crashed really hard... I was shaking and almost fainted. So I had a slice of whole grain seeded bread & cheese and slept until 3pm!

Hoping to get the results tomorrow. It's my 35th birthday and I'll be 30 weeks! We have a celebration dinner planned, on Saturday I might have my surprise baby shower :) etc so I want to know if I can have a piece of cake or dessert or start following a GD diet plan. (I started with that today just in case though...)

How is everyone else doing?


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## froggyfrog

I really hope you pass fern! 

Happy thanksgiving to the Americans. We aren't doing any family stuff today for thanksgiving since they are all so far away. DH and I are going to a movie and found a few restaurants open today so we will go out to eat after. I will probably just face time with my family later. Hope everyone has a good day


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## Fern81

Thanks Froggy. 
Oh yeah just came back to also wish you us ladies a happy thanksgiving :) I'm so thankful for you all!!


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## Fern81

My 35th birthday today and I'm 30 weeks!! Now just hoping for good news from the doctor.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Is anyone braving black friday? It's a "thing" here now too. I just came to the mall to have that long-awaited wax done... full bikini wax, was really not as bad as I had dreaded it to be. Sure it was more painful than before I was preggies but all in all definitely worth it!


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## froggyfrog

Happy happy birthday fern!!! Hope your day is great!!

I was going to go out, dh didn't like the idea. I had my eyes set on a camera, but ended up using a portion my camera money to get a new phone. I got the iPhone 7 plus. It's my first apple, I have always been an android girl. So far so good! I'll just watch the cameras and hope they go back on sale!


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## rebecca822

Happy happy birthday Fern!! I hope it's a really great day for you and the start of an amazing year as a MOM!!
Happy week 30! I'm celebrating week 29 today :)


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## Rq120

Happy birthday Fern. Hope it was a great day for you.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I worked the morning shift and spent some quality time with my family in the evening. I'm back at the hospital today for probably my last shift. The extra money will come in handy when DH leaves work to be a stay at home daddy. I'm so lucky to have such a great DH.

DH is at home doing some stuff around the house and getting the Christmas stuff out. Every year our best friends come over on the day after Thanksgiving and they decorate our tree with us. It's been a tradition for YEARS. Can't believe it is our last Christmas without kids! This year our friends and DH all bought onesie pajamas and are excited to hang out in pajamas! Our friends are TOO FUNNY (and extremely silly)!!

DH is also getting a haircut today for our holiday pics tomorrow. I hope they turn out well. I want to use one of the pics and order some photo Christmas cards. We have never done that, but I think it would be fun this year.


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## rebecca822

Rq I'm glad your done with your extra shifts at the hospital. I'm sure you're so glad you did it, it's nice to have the extra cash before the babies.

DH comes home today, he's been away since Sunday. Bit of a challenging week with dd sick.


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## Fern81

Just had my baby shower! It was ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!! My MIL made so many handmade gifts and so much decor, it was like walking into a fairytale. I'm still utterly overwhelmed. We got a lot of clothes but also lots of other practical gifts. So excited and I can't wait to start packing and sorting everything!


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## 2have4kids

Fern so glad to hear! Happy belated birthday!

Hi to all. Very busy the past few days will update more tomorrow afternoon.


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## rebecca822

A lady a few blocks from us gave birth to twin boys on Wednesday. I only heard bits and pieces but sounds like she was about 2 months early and I heard one of the babies was not doing great. I'm so grateful that all of us are still pregnant and we're all past the stage of micro preemies. My OB told me that my babies have greater than 90% chance of survival at this point, kind of a relief. Of course I'm really hoping to get to 36 weeks. 

Weekend has been nice so far, meeting some friends tonight for dinner.


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## elliecain

Oh no, that's so sad. I hope her babies make it.

I'll be more relaxed once I get into the third tri. I still can't shake the fear that I won't have a living baby at the end of this.


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## rebecca822

Ellie, that's right you are a few weeks behind. But 24 weeks is a milestone as it is considered the week of viability. Let's all get to full term ;)


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## 2have4kids

My colleague had twins at 25 weeks and they had to have heart eye and other surgeries. They still have physical problems they have to get therapy for. The more they bake the better it is! They measure my cervix every 3 weeks and it's always at more than 4cm length, they like you to be over 2 cm so that you don't have a chance of early birth. 

We're off to get holiday photos done today with grandma. I had a terrible sleep with numb arms even sleeping on my back. Have been in the gym working out to see if getting better circulation helps clear this up but so far it's not working. Will try for another week. 
I hope everyone's having a great weekend!


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## rebecca822

2have that sounds really tough that she had to go through all that. As anxious as I am to give birth already i want healthy babies so if that means another 6-9 weeks then so be it.
I had a friend who had twins early (don't recall how early) and one of the twins developed neck and did not make it. It was a very sad time. The other twin is now 5 and a regular happy little girl. 
She had a baby in June and was really anxious and obsessed about giving birth and she kept saying how she needed the baby out. She convinced her doctor to induce her at 39 weeks. But from about 35 weeks until the end she kept asking me about castor oil and all different methods of natural induction and I kept telling her how silly she was that her baby needed every extra day to finish. 
We are all pretty close to the home stretch and will meet our children very soon and I just can't wait for all of us


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## Fern81

I'm SO not ready for him to be born yet!! I have so much left to do... and I'm not ready to stop being pregnant and nurturing him in my womb yet, if that makes sense. Well I think we are all past the first viability milestone now and every day that they are still "baking" is a blessing :). I'm praying that none of us has preemies though. 

2have - how was your photo shoot? 

Have a lovely week all! We have another big function /dinner tonight and I still don't have my GD test results...


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## 2have4kids

Hi Fern, have fun at your big dinner! You're almost down to the 2 month mark:happydance: I want this pregnancy over simply because of my sleep issues and carpal tunnel but I'm not wanting to deliver these twins until I'm days from the induction due date, baking as long as they possibly can for good health. I can only hope that most mothers would want this for their babies, when we sign up for this we take on the responsibilities of all pregnancy issues, including tough sleeping problems, spd, GD, and whatever else it may hand us. 

Rebecca your friend sounds really young and maybe a little self centred (I have a friend just like that although she's 39 and there's just no excuse for her choosing to not vaccinate her baby and all of the other selfish things she's chosen to do). 

Our 'Rustic Christmas' photo session went great. DD was obsessed with the sparkly snow and loved making a mess digging her hands into it. The photographer was still shooting her well after she'd declared the session over lol. We'll get the photos in a week so I'm excited to see the outcome.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - I'm glad your DH is home. I know I would be excited.

Fern - Yay on your baby shower. I'm so glad it turned out great.

2Have - sucks you are still dealing with your arms hurting. I hope it's not something you are going to have to deal with the rest of your pregnancy?!?!

This weekend was nice, but busy. DH and I went for a holiday photo shoot. I am looking forward to getting the pics back. 

I hit 30 weeks on Sunday, 7 more to go for full-term twins. My ob said they wouldn't let me go past 38 weeks. So far so good and I'm hoping I stay as comfortable as possible as I near the end. I was SO TIRED this weekend. After my shift on Friday, I realized I did too much and I felt like it took all weekend to recover. I actually took a nap on Friday and I slept 12 hours from Saturday into Sunday. Since I started wrapping my belly, I have been more comfortable laying down and I'm having better nights.

This morning I woke up to a HUGE belly. It's so funny how it looks bigger some days/mornings depending on where the babies are positioned. I guess I better get used to it. I think my days of a "cute little bump" are nearing an end. I took a 30 week pic. I'll share below.


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## froggyfrog

Have fun at your dinner fern, I hope you hear something soon about your GD. The limbo is hard, but better to stay on the safe side just in case.

Baby is SO active lately, he wakes me up during the night, and sometimes he hurts me. I think the painful movements are an elbow or a knee bone poking me! I wouldn't want it any other way because it's reassuring to know he is doing well. My 32 week appointment is on Wednesday and I'm anxious to see if the previa has moved. I think this appointment will tell us whether or not he is coming early! Of course i want him to stay in as long as he can, but I am excited that I could possibly meet my son so soon!


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## Rq120

30 weeks w/ twins
 



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## froggyfrog

LOVE your bump rq!!


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## 2have4kids

Nice bump rq!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm sorry I missed your post about your shower! So glad that it was nice I hope you got nice gifts. Good luck with the GD results I hope you get the results right away.

Rq lovely bump! I'm just a few days behind you. 

2have I'm sorry you're having so much trouble sleeping that is really a shame. I've been sleeping pretty well for the most part.

Froggy good luck on Wednesday I hope your previa has moved so you don't need to have a c section!

Have a great week everyone!


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies,

I started having contractions and called my doctor. He sent me to the hospital and apparently I'm in preterm labor. I'm getting steroids now to help the babies in case they are born. They are hoping that they can stop the progression of the labor. I came here and was 1cm dilated and last they checked I'm at 2cm. 
I'll keep you all in the loop.


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## froggyfrog

Oh no, please keep us updated Rebecca. I hope the babies can stay out for a while.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca hold on tight to those babies, I'm so sorry to hear you're body is trying to evict so soon! It's so ironic seeing we were just discussing this.


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## rebecca822

2have I agree it's very ironic. 
The nicu Dr came to speak with us and explain what would happen if I gave birth now. That really scared me and I started crying in front of the Dr. So far the contractions have stopped and I'm still at 2cm. They will check my cervix again in the morning and fingers crossed it will not be any more than 2. The steroids are given in 2 doses 24 hours apart so the first dose was at about 5pm therefore I for sure will stay in the hospital until I receive the second dose. They are also continuing to give me medications to "calm" my uterus.
I sent DH home to get dd to sleep and for him to get to bed. I'll call him if I need him during the night.
I hope I can get some sleep and that nothing happens during the night. 

What a day!!


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## Fern81

Oh no rebecca I'm so sorry to read this!! Hope you are fast asleep right now and that your uterus has calmed down. I'm praying for you and for Joseph and Alisa. Wish I lived closer so that I could come help out in some way!


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## rebecca822

Thank you all for your kindness.
So far there has been no change and no progress so that's really great news. 

Will keep you all posted. Hugs!


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## Fern81

Aaahh what a relief for now!! I chatted to my sister this morning. She has twins who were born at 36 weeks, she also went into labor early (I think 33 weeks) and had to stay on bed rest in the hospital until they had to be delivered due to another problem (I won't go into the details and scare anyone; it was a problem she had because they are identical & shared a placenta etc.) Her twins are doing really great, they are 18 months old now. She belongs to a South African multiples support group and says about 40% of the ladies had premature labor and it was treated successfully. I'm sure your care is even better than what many women get in RSA so I'm hoping your twinnies will be absolutely fine. Xxx rest up! And keep us updated!

I also have some good news, all the tests I had done on Thursday (2hr glucose tolerance, haemoglobin, platelets and iron ) are all fine. I'm so relieved.


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, I am so sorry to read this. I am pleased things have calmed down and praying it was a false alarm and your little ones stay inside for a while longer. I hope you are being well looked after and you can get some rest X


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca, that's good news that things have calmed down, hopefully the drugs will keep the baby snug & secure so they can develop more before delivery.

Fern that's really great news about your tests, you must feel very relieved to hear that everything is going well!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so pleased that your results came back good!

No change since yesterday. This afternoon I receive more steroids for the babies and then tomorrow afternoon they will allow me to go home if nothing changes. After speaking with my doctor (not the hospitals on call OB) seems like I will be on bed rest until 34 weeks.
I am so grateful that the babies seem to want to stay and so so grateful for all of your support!!


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## Rq120

Rebecca - How scary!! I'm glad they got the pre-term labor to stop. Sending good vibes your way. Definitely keep us updated!! 

Fern - I'm glad all your testing was normal. What a relief!

The babies must be hitting another growth spurt because I was a little uncomfortable last night and my belly is getting noticeably bigger. My coworker just commented on it this morning too. 

I got the holiday pictures today and they turned out cute. I'll share one below. Now I just need to find a photo Christmas card and order some.
 



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## rebecca822

Rq that's a really nice photo and you look great!! It's so funny for me to see a Christimas picture with short sleeves! It gets cold and snowy here in the winter so everyone's holiday photos are always with heavy sweaters ;)


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## froggyfrog

So glad that things are looking better Rebecca, will you have help with your dd while on bed rest? 

Do I love that picture, it's super cute! And your belly looks great!


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## Fern81

Rebecca I'm so glad to hear that you and your babies are OK. XXX Take it easy hun! 

Rq- if I haven't said so already; your bump is so cute! Yep that looks more like a South African Christmas shoot :) nice and warm :)

Hope everyone else is doing well!


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## rebecca822

Froggy I have hired cleaning help for the house. Just 3 hours a day 4 days a week so DH doesn't need to worry about laundry, dishes, garbages, bathrooms, etc.
I will need to figure out a plan for DD since she gets home at 4 and will need to be looked after and DH works until 5:30.
There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle but it will only be until I'm 34 weeks so we will manage. Dd will just be happy that I will be home. She was very sad to see I was not home yet when she woke up in the morning &#128549;


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## 2have4kids

RQ such a lovely shot!! 

Rebecca I guess there will be lots of visits with DD, she's going to miss you dearly as I'm sure you will her.


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> RQ such a lovely shot!!
> 
> Rebecca I guess there will be lots of visits with DD, she's going to miss you dearly as I'm sure you will her.

Bed rest will be at home, not in the hospital so she can come visit me in my room and play in my room. 
I'm hoping they will discharge me tomorrow.


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## elliecain

Thinking of you and your babies Rebecca.


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## 2have4kids

Oh that's great Rebecca, for a min there I thought you'd be in hospital for a while.


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## rebecca822

The hospital OB stopped in and hopefully I will be able to leave this afternoon. I've been laying here since Monday so I'm relieved to get home.
Waiting for my Dr from the OB practice I use to stop in and confirm the plans and tell me where we will go from here. I assume I'll have more frequent appointments, etc.
As of now the long term goal would be to get me to 34 weeks.


Froggy- good luck today on your scan, fingers crossed the previa moved away.


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## Rq120

Rebecca - I hope you get home today. I'm glad everything calmed down enough to get home. 

The photo shoot was still cold. It was cloudy, windy, and in the low 40's that day. We have had a mild start to the winter so far in Indiana. No snow yet, which makes me happy. DH and I are moving to Florida next spring and I don't care if I ever see snow again. I don't like cold weather. Anyway, the photo session was bearable because it was short and I really am warmer now that I'm pregnant. The babies kept me warm. LOL

I go to the doctor on Monday and I'm going to ask them how I can tell I'm having a Braxton Hick contraction vs something else. All afternoon yesterday I was having pressure really low in my abdomen by my bladder. It was really uncomfortable and came and went for several hours (when sitting down). I assumed it was the boy and the way he was sitting, but now I'm wondering if it wasn't BH. I'm a first time mom, so I don't know what is what.


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## 2have4kids

Rq120 said:


> Rebecca - I hope you get home today. I'm glad everything calmed down enough to get home.
> 
> The photo shoot was still cold. It was cloudy, windy, and in the low 40's that day. We have had a mild start to the winter so far in Indiana. No snow yet, which makes me happy. DH and I are moving to Florida next spring and I don't care if I ever see snow again. I don't like cold weather. Anyway, the photo session was bearable because it was short and I really am warmer now that I'm pregnant. The babies kept me warm. LOL
> 
> I go to the doctor on Monday and I'm going to ask them how I can tell I'm having a Braxton Hick contraction vs something else. All afternoon yesterday I was having pressure really low in my abdomen by my bladder. It was really uncomfortable and came and went for several hours (when sitting down). I assumed it was the boy and the way he was sitting, but now I'm wondering if it wasn't BH. I'm a first time mom, so I don't know what is what.

RQ when I went into labour it was mild and I wasn't sure if it was BH. The nurse said to me if it's painful, the contractions are labour, if it's muscle tightening and not painful then it's BH. BH are often irregular and don't get closer together. Real contractions come at regular intervals and last 30 s - over a minute. But at this point if you have any worries whatsoever do contact an OB/mw, we don't need another lady here going into full on contractions!!:wacko:


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## rebecca822

Rq you should always call the Dr if you feel concerned. They can stop preterm labor most of the time sonits always worthwhile to call!


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## froggyfrog

I would certainly call rq, hope it's nothing though! 

Rebecca I'm glad your going home, you will definitely rest better.

I had my 32 week appointment today and my previa has moved! Yay!! So no early c section for us! They still won't let me go past my due date, and will induce between 39 and 40 weeks, but at least we won't have to worry about him being early by that point.


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## 2have4kids

Oh wow Froggy, fabulous news!:happydance:


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## rebecca822

Amazing news froggy!!! I'm so happy for you!

Cleared for discharge! DH is on his way to pick me up.


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## Fern81

Great news Froggy, wow what a relief. Now you have some more time to just relax and not stress about the earlier birth. 

Rebecca - take it easy hun!!! Hope you have NO more issues for the next few weeks. 

2have - lovely profile pic. Is that you? Wow you look so elegant!

Rq- as you all know I've been getting uncomfortable and at times painful BH since 8weeks. It started being a concern at around 16 weeks when I had them all day, every 10min, after a huge fight with dh. They haven't really let up since then and are especially bad if I'm stressed. For me it involves my whole uterus tightening really hard & sore; I can feel its outlines (freaky) and sometimes it involves period type cramping and lower back "contractions" as well! Dr says I'm one of the unfortunate few who experience them to such an extent, hooray lol. My midwife said that when the time comes, I might have to look for other signs of labour like the bloody show and water breaking, unless my "real" contractions are noticeably stronger. And that I should just go to the labor ward if I'm worried at all because BH that are so frequent and intense can lead to an irritable uterus, which in turn can lead to prem labor (not too worried about it though). 
I downloaded an app that another thread friend suggested. It's called Full Term and helps time contractions so that you know if they are becoming more regular and closer together. This is something I never expected to experience but as long as my baby is OK I can handle it. 
I agree with everyone else, phone your dr if you are unsure!!


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## rebecca822

Aww fern that sounds rough! I hope you get a clear sign of labor and the BH let up a bit and give you a break!!

So happy to be home! Dd was thrilled to see me today after school. OB said it would be ok for me to work but I need to limit my hours. I work from home at a desk job (sometimes I need to travel but obviously out of the question for the foreseeable future). Honestly on one hand I really want to just go on short term disability and not think about work but I'll be so bored. I also feel bad doing his to my company as they really rely on me and it would make everyone else's job so much more difficult. For now I told my boss I will be working but 6-7 hours instead of 8 hours and the doctor will reevaluate next week when I see him. I'll be going in once a week for appointments and I'll need my cervix checked for any changes. As of this afternoon I was 2cm and 50% effaced. 
I am so grateful they were able to stop the progression as I really do not want these babies born early! I'm grateful for every extra day they can bake.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca glad to hear you're home. Hopefully everything stays calm even though you've still got to work & take care of DD. 

Fern, sorry to hear you've been so riddled with B&H. Sounds like you have a solid plan to know when the real ones will start. The avatar I put up was from our pool maternity shoot last year. Our photographer wanted to try out her new waterproof gear so she set up a private pool session with us at our local pool. I was 32 weeks then and you can barely see the bump:wacko: I would have liked it to be a bit bigger but she didn't want to chance an early delivery and not get our mat shots in. I have nothing to complain about this time, a lady at work commented the other day that I have quite a basketball attached to me:haha:

DD is teething again this week, her 4th molar in 2.5 months. I can't believe how quickly all of her baby teeth have come in!


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## rebecca822

2have I was wondering about the avatar photo. Awesome idea! 
Sorry about DD teething that's really tough. I used to freeze the teething toys and dd liked to chew on those.

DH has been extremely helpful. This morning as I started working I got up to make myself a coffee and DH made me sit and he made my coffee. Hes getting up earlier than usual to be available to get DD to school. I feel badly that this is falling on him but hey at least he can empathize a bit with his pregnant wife :)

How's everyone else doing?


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## Fern81

Hope you are still OK Rebecca. Are you managing your 6-7 hrs work a day and your dd? Happy 30 weeks!

2have - I love all those pool pics that you have posted on here. I don't like photo shoots (I try to avoid them when I can!) But would really have loved to have a shoot like that one. My bump is much bigger than yours on those pics though!! :) yep a big bump can be cute but it's hard on a person's back. Oi.

Has anyone heard anything from Praying? Hope she is OK! 

What's everyone up to? 
*we're upgrading our medical aid fund to have higher cover from next year (yay!!)
* meeting with our life insurance broker tomorrow to discuss our finances, appoint guardians for DS etc
* still trying to sort out the nursery... hoping to put in a carpet on Sunday and move all the furniture to where I want it :) I've started washing clothes and packing the cupboards 
* started to get stuff together for my hospital bag, hoping to get that packed & done by next week
* babysitting my 4 yo niece today until after dinner (planning on swimming a LOT, we're mid-heat wave and the water is lovely!).

Have a great weekend all!


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## rebecca822

Fern happy 31 to you!! You have a nice list to work on :) 
My hospital bag is 90% done. Inwant to go through it and make sure everything is in there. Things I'll need to add are snacks, chargers, hair brush, makeup (i.e. Things I'll add last minute since I still need them)
I'm glad to be in the 30's is a bit more calming as I know it's another milestone. I have been having contractions and some pretty regular and consistent. I went to the dr for a check and my cervix has no change so they said it's ok to have these contractions since I've proven that it's not causing me labor.

I'm taking it easy and DH is doing everything around the house. 

Happy weekend ladies!


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## Rq120

Wow, I have been so busy at work the last two days I haven't even checked in here. I'm glad it's Friday, although I have a crazy busy, but fun, weekend ahead of me.

Froggy - So glad to hear that your previa moved!

Rebecca - Happy you are home. I hope you can make it as long as possible.

I should clarify from my last update. I wasn't worried about the pressure I was feeling, I was just unsure if I'm feeling BH only in the lower part of my belly OR if it was my boy pushing on my pelvis. I'm a FTM so I don't have any reference on what BH feel like and I don't even know if I have had any because I don't know what I'm looking for. I suspect it was my baby boy rolling around in the basement. LOL. However, thanks for everyone's concern. You are all so sweet.

I finally got all my thank you notes written! I know it doesn't sound that hard, but I'm slow at writing them and I had 55+ to write! It was a big job. Now that those are done, I can start working on my baby room. Step one is organizing the hand me downs and moving them to the dresser. I am meeting a coworker on Sunday to get some girl hand me downs. I am so blessed on the clothing front!!

My sweet sister-in-law (who lives with us) bought me a 1 hour prenatal massage yesterday. I called and made an appointment today for right after Christmas. I am off work the week between Christmas and New Year so it will be wonderful to have that during my off week. 

Busy weekend plans. Tonight I am the designated driver and taking hubby and friends to a beer/wine tasting fundraiser. Then tomorrow I'm taking my sister-in-law and my best friend to get pedicures and then a nice lunch to thank them for throwing me such a beautiful shower. Sat evening hubby and I are going to my work Christmas party. Shame the open bar goes to waste on me - LOL. Sunday DH are I are going on a date to the circus and then dinner with my step sister who is visiting from Florida. I'm going to be ready for a weekend from my weekend!!

Hope you all are doing well and have a great weekend.

PS. Lots of baby hiccups. Do your babies hiccup a lot? It is cute.


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## 2have4kids

Fern that's a great list! We just rolled our medical insurance for another year of yhe same. We'll need to contact our lawyer after the girls are born to update the power of attourney and living wills. We got an area rug for the twin nursery and other than that I just need to open the box of clothing from DD that was put away. Will wait to do that so DH doesn't catch on that I know. 

Rebecca that's great news that even if you have BH it's not dilating or effacing your uterus any more.

RQ lovely ideas to tteat your shower hosts! Do enjoy your time this weekend.

You ladies are waay ahead oc me, I haven't touched my hospital bag! I slept horribly last night and then DD, DH and I all got vaccines today. DD's now teething and been with fever since 4am this morning. We only do 1 needle at a time with her so she got one that only makes the arm sore. She's been sobbing all night though poor wee thing. I fear it's going to be another rough night!

We got our photos back from the Christmas photo session. DD was such a great little model <3


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## elliecain

She looks adorable. Great picture!

My dad asked me what I'd like for Christmas, so I sent him a link to a place near here that does prenatal massages. Work has been really stressful lately and it's taking its toll on my back. I always carry stress in my neck and upper back, then add in that my stance is changing and my lower back curving. Can't wait for the massage. If it's good, I might book one every few weeks.


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## rebecca822

Rq ive also been feeling a lot of pelvic pressure. They say its really normal since I'm carrying the equivalent of 1 full term baby. 
Yes, i feel hicupps!!
2have I think that's a great picture McKinley looks so sweet! The contractions I've been having and still are having are real contractions and not considered BH. They are also very regular. I feel 4 an hour and sometimes more. My appointment with my OB is Thursday and I'm eager to see if I'm still at 2cm even with all these intense contractions.

DH has been amazing help but it's getting a bit boring (and I have 4 more weeks if this!)

Ellie a massage sounds really nice I hope it relaxes and relieves your stress!


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## Fern81

Ellie that sounds so divine! Hope you thoroughly enjoy it momma. Almost third tri for you too, where has the time gone!?

Aawww 2have, mackinley looks so adorable. Kids just make the most memorable pics with their cute facial expressions.

Rebecca- eesshh I hope you're not dilating any further! 

Phew what a busy weekend. We got the carpet in the nursery and saw our financial consultant, two things ticked off the enormously long list of prep still to be done! Then this morning I burst into uncontrollable loud sobs in a very, very large & busy hardware store in front of EVERYONE because I was tired and dh was being SLIGHTLY inconsiderate. I was so embarrassed but couldn't.stop.sobbing r_r all 100 people in the que just avoided eye contact with me including my husband lol....


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## Fern81

Rq- yep baby hiccups lol!!!


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## rebecca822

Aww Fern sorry about your meltdown. Those damn hormones!!
Glad you go to check things off your list.

Tonight we have an engagement party for my cousin. It's really exciting for me since I watched her grow up! She's 6 years younger than me but I feel like her big sister. I'm going to go but take it very easy and sit the whole time! My family does not expect me to attend but I really want to be there.


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## elliecain

Aw Fern, pregnancy tears are so annoying, bless you! I just managed to leave my classroom before bursting into tears this morning. My Year 9s now know what happens if you are mean to a pregnant woman... Did your husband learn this lesson too?

I LOVE it when Finlo gets the hiccups, it's so cute and feels so lovely. He's getting so strong now as well, my husband is amazed by how the kicks feel!


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## Rq120

2Have - that pic is adorable!!

Rebecca - I hope the babies hang in there. Enjoy your party, sounds like fun!

Fern - darn those pregnancy hormones.

OB appt this afternoon with a growth ultrasound. I'm currently going every 2 weeks, but I don't know when they are going to switch to weekly. I'm interested in seeing what the estimated weights are today.


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## rebecca822

Good luck with your appointment RQ!


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## Fern81

Haha ellie you poor thing!! Idk I think my husband still thinks I'm exaggerating my symptoms sometimes. Until when will you be teaching? I've forgotten where you live :blush: from when until when is your school year?

Rq- how are those weights?

Rebecca how was the party? I love family gatherings! 

Can anyone else feel baby's body parts when touching your bumps? Since last week I've suddenly started feeling hard lumps sticking out and moving around; specifically underneath my right ribs. if I had to guess I'd call them little feet! Just when I thought baby movement couldn't get any cooler :) :)


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## froggyfrog

Enjoy seeing your babies rq!

Fern... oh the joys of hormones! I feel what I think are his feet sticking out. He is head down at every scan so his feet are up in my ribs and sometimes I feel them sticking out. I give them a little rub and he pulls them back lol. 

I have also started having extreme shortness of breath at times. I have to sit down and stop talking until I can catch my breath again. I'm hoping it goes away in a few weeks when he drops down. He was 4lb7oz last Wednesday and we saw his chest moving up and down while he was practicing breathing. It was the sweetest thing!


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## rebecca822

I can totally feel body parts! Butts are easy to find but I can't tell if it's a back or butt. I try poking them and then baby moves. Kind of fun :)
The good news is my girl is really low down so her legs are not in my ribs anymore. I feel a crazy amount of pelvic pressure but a fair trade for having my ribs back!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, Fern, sorry about the meltdown. I completely understand, I have more meltdowns with my lack of sleep. I'll bawl in the morning because I'm so tired or at night when I haven't been able to lie down without my arms & hands throbbing. It's tough. You have much on your plate too and with a DH that's being insensitive it doesn't help.

Rebecca I hope you enjoyed your party, I always love a good party, mostly when others are hosting :haha: That's great news about the feet not being in your ribs anymore!

RQ the birth weights and position is what interests me most too. Let us know how your scan goes.

Ellie the best thing so far for my carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel has been massage. I have 2 ladies at my local massage place that do both pregnancy and deep tissue. Most pregnancy massages are quite light but they both are aware that I have serious back problems from tight muscles and inflammation (these plus extra fluid are all the causes of cubital & carpal tunnel). So they really do a fantastic job of getting into my shoulder blades. It's so expensive but I absolutely adore a good massage. I hope you enjoy yours. I was saying to one of them the other day that if I even won a million $$ I wouldn't be changing homes or travelling, I'd hire my own personal masseuse :haha:

I had about 3 hours sleep last night. Couldn't lay on my sides at all and when on my back, my arms & hands were still throbbing. I tried laying on my belly putting the bump inside the circle of my twin z nursing pillow but still couldn't sleep (I'm just not a belly sleeper). 72 more days right?


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## rebecca822

2have I'm so sorry that you've been having such pain while you're sleeping! My only sleep issue is getting up constantly to pee! Can you sleep with extra pillows for support for your arms?


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> 2have I'm so sorry that you've been having such pain while you're sleeping! My only sleep issue is getting up constantly to pee! Can you sleep with extra pillows for support for your arms?

The only way my arms don't throb is laying face down. And when I do this my nose completely plugs up and my mind races with weather I'm squishing the babies. Last night they started kicking away when I did the bump in the pillow thing. I'll keep trying it and see if I can get used to it.


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## froggyfrog

I hope you can find a solution 2have, that sounds horrible. I have just started making my pregnancy pillow into a circle and laying with my stomach in the middle as well. It's a nice break for my back I find!


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## rebecca822

Rq how was your appointment yesterday?


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## rebecca822

Pretty sure my water just broke. Heading to the hospital. Will keep you all posted.


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## Fern81

Oh my goodness Rebecca..............!!!!! Thank heavens you got those steroid shots. Praying for you and your babies! Xx


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## rebecca822

rebecca822 said:
 

> Pretty sure my water just broke. Heading to the hospital. Will keep you all posted.

Water definitely broke. Waiting for my doctor to come in so we can discuss C section vs vbac.


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## froggyfrog

Hoping and praying that everything and everyone is ok! Keep us updated!


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## elliecain

Thinking of you and the twins Rebecca. I hope it goes well and I'm also glad you had the steroid injections. :hugs:


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## rebecca822

So grateful I got the steroids last week. The plan is to try for a vbac. I'm not in labor as of now and they are hoping to delay labor as long as possible. I can last days or even weeks with a broken water. I'll be in the hospital but the hope is I can delay delivering.


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## 2have4kids

All the best Rebecca xx


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## Fern81

Rebecca I'm so glad that you've been admitted and that they are keeping a close eye on you. It can't be easy. Every day counts hun. Please keep us updated. Xx HUGS!!!

2have - that really sounds awful. I would have gone crazy by now. Does it help at all if your dh gives you a massage before bed? Or heat packs? Geez I can't even imagine. 

I've scrubbed my actual hospital suitcase (it's an old one I'm borrowing from my mom and it's travelled with her all over the world so it had to be scrubbed and sun dried!!). Yesterday my mom took me shopping and bought me 3 sets of hospital pj's, bikini briefs for the hospital (I only have g-strings lol), and lovely nursery curtains. The curtains are such a clever concept. A light gauze curtain in front, with heavy, thermal insulating, noise reducing and light-blocking inner curtains. So the inners can be opened behind the light outer curtain, ensuring that the window is always covered (my neighbours can see into the room) and that I never have to pull away or open my pretty outer curtain, but that some light can shine in if I want. I also bought an extra matress cover and pillow covers for my double bed in the nursery. .. Baby is bound to have some accidents on my bedding since we will be co-sleeping (not bed-sharing; he will be sleeping in his carrycot or the co-sleeper) :). What a productive day! I have about half the stuff that he & I need in hospital and for the first few weeks, done and washed & packed away. Phew.


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## rebecca822

Jospeh and Alisa are here! Born a little over an hour ago vbac. I'm doing very well and babies seem ok. I got a peek at them but I'll get to see them a bit later.


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## Pinkie3

Rebecca, congratulations on the birth of your beautiful little babies. Sorry to hear they have arrived early but so pleased they came into the world safely and I hope they continue to grow strong. I hope mamma is doing ok too. Lots of love to you x


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## Fern81

Oh wow rebecca you are my hero. I'm so glad to hear they are doing ok!! Still praying for you!! How did your parents react when they found out you had twins?


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## 2have4kids

Oh my Rebecca that's amazing, shocking news! So glad to hear everyone is OK. That was quite an early eviction! Can't wait to see photos xx

Fern you sound really well prepared, good thinking with the curtains! I was given some really useful tips by my two beloved pharmacy ladies (they've doled out all of my IVF meds + some over the last 6 years and being both moms are always super excited to see our little ones). They said to get some granny panties for cheap that you can toss away. And to get the biggest longest pads possible and if you have pain after birth to wet them, freeze them and then use them to reduce inflammation in the region (I didn't have any pain afterwards and came out completely unscathed). Best tip was to take the absorbent hospital mat that they use on the hospital bed home with me. The ones they sell in stores are cheap and thin and not very good (and you have to buy them for anywhere from $5-$20) whereas the mats they use in the hospital are soft material and water proof and washable and get thrown out anyway rather than sterilized and reused. So I did take this last year as mine was clean (I had brought my granny panties and some massive pads that caught everything keeping the bed clean) and used it for DD when she co-slept with us. Like you Fern we used a bassinest and had a middle station sleeper that kept her separate from us while still being in the middle of the bed. My boobs also leaked and I appreciated having this pad as I didn't want to have to sleep with bras & pads on and be washing sheets everyday. It was big enough to stretch between the two of us. 

Well I took yesterday off and DH let me nap throughout the day so I was able to catch up on some sleep. Last night I managed to fall asleep on my belly which gave my arms/hands a break and only needed to switch to my back half way through. Feel like a new woman today :haha:


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## Fern81

Thanks 2have that's great advice.


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## rebecca822

Babies are 3lbs each and seem to be doing great! They have a little oxygen in their nose but it's very minimal. God willing they will grow stronger and bigger so we can take them home in 5-6 weeks!
I'll post some pictures a bit later.


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## froggyfrog

Oh wow!!! Congrats Rebecca!!! I'm so glad that the babies seem to be doing well under the circumstances, and I'm looking forward to seeing their cute faces!!!


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## Fern81

Wow again Rebecca. I still can't quite believe they are here, feels like yesterday we were all cheering each other on in the tww. Congrats Momma!! <3


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## elliecain

I'm so glad they are doing so well, congratulations! Can't wait to see pictures xx


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## rebecca822

This is our little girl! The picture kind of makes her look really big but she's really very tiny!
 



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## rebecca822

This is our little boy!
 



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## Fern81

Aahh they're adorable!! Look at that hair :) and those little toes and fingers! They're perfectly angelic.


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## Fern81

How are you doing /feeling Rebecca? Are you ok?


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## elliecain

How adorable and perfect looking! :hugs: to you all.


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## Pinkie3

They are beautiful Rebecca :hugs:


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## froggyfrog

Aww, hi Joseph and Alisa!!! Good job mommy!! Congrats again!


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## 2have4kids

They're beautiful, so delicate hooked up to all those things. Were you able to hold them Rebecca? How are you doing?


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## Rq120

Hi everyone! Sorry I was MIA and I missed a lot! I had a training class the last two days at work and I have been so busy at home I haven't checked in during off-work hours.

Rebecca - wow! Congrats on your babies. I'm so glad they only need some oxygen and not to be on the breathing machine. What a blessing. I hope you all are doing well. I also would like to know how your family reacted to find out there were two. Sending prayers your way for healthy babies!!

My OB appt went well. The babies are still measuring ahead and the estimated weight is 3lbs 14oz. So almost 8 lbs of baby total. The doc told me my belly is measuring full term for a singleton pregnancy. Thankfully I'm still feeling pretty well. I go again in 2 weeks. 

DH bought me a support band from Babies R Us and I have been sleeping with it. I didn't think much of it at first but found out it is really helping me get out of bed and turn from side to side. Much easier to do so with the band on and it is comfy to wear without even noticing it.


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## rebecca822

Hi! Just a quick update.
Both babies are completely off oxygen and breathing on their own which is miraculous and great!
They are taking amazing care of them. I get to kangaroo them (skin to skin) so I take turns between the babies and hold them on my chest for at least an hour at a time. They sleep so peacefully and it's really calming for them because they can hear my heart beating and it reminds them of the sounds from the womb. I started using the pump to get my milk supply going. So far no milk yet but within the next day or two I should have some. Babies under 32 weeks can't suck so we will try and start with them testing out eating from my breast in a bit over a week. Today both babies weighed 1310 grams which is good.

Thank you for all the good wishes you are great friends!!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca that's great news! Glad to hear everything is going well<3

I had a scan this morning, babies are 1506g and 1559g and here's a baby face pic:


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## Fern81

Hehe 2have I love those ghost face shots :) I have one from my last scan too. Looks like she was yawning!

Rebecca I'm so happy to hear they are doing so well! The kangaroo-ing sounds amazing. You sound well, too; hope you are feeling good. 

We're going on a 4day vacation next week. Looking forward! It's to a bushveld retreat with a spa, less than an hour's drive away. I really need to get away since I work from home so it feels like I'm always at the office (we haven't been away together for 2 years!). And hoping it's a nice time for us to bond before Baby comes.

I've randomly started having nausea a day or so ago?? Like ms I'm guessing. At first I thought I was getting sick but am feeling fine in the evenings so idk. We have our family Christmas celebration tomorrow so I'm hoping I don't have any nausea :).

How is everyone doing?


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## Fern81

Oh and I almost had a panic attack this morning when I realized I only have 8weeks left at most. I still feel very unprepared for parenthood but at the same time just want to hold him.


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## rebecca822

2have your babies sound nice and big! Glad your girlies are doing well!

Fern enjoy your vacation! I was also having a little nausea again the last 2 weeks. It's crazy how it feels not to be pregnant!

Have a great weekend everyone!


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## 2have4kids

Fern that retreat sounds wonderful! I can understand your need to get out of ghe house. Even on a year mat leave I was getting severe cabin fever. Took DD out everyday for walks just to get away from the house and I don't work from home!

I've had nausea often and vomited twice since Saturday last week. The babies weigh 6.5 pounds in total and there's no room for my tummy. I eat small meals and sometimes I feel anxious if there's carbs in the food. I get jittery with rice, bread, pasta, like an immediate sugar rush. Other times I feel like burping after eating only a few bites which instigates me wanting to run to the toilet, feels like the stomach will reject everything. Other times I'm fine, I never know when it's going to hit. I'm still at 23 pounds up this week. It's hard to gain when I have troubles with food.


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## nimbec

Hi all wow gosh so much to catch up on!! 

Rebecca congratulations they are beautiful!! I'm so pleased they are strong and not requiring any help - true fighters! Hope you are ok too? I remember the tough emotions involved with having a baby in scbu, Harrison was in for just over a week and that was pretty tough, so lovely you get to hold them lots! 

Hi to everyone else I'm trying to read back and catch up....at least a bit! 

Sorry I'm not posting life has been like a huge whirlwind and still is, work is a million miles per hour and I've been a bit unwell too...low blood sugars, low BP and migraines - now I have an ear infection too &#128584;. I'm ok in general tho...feeling HUGE! I can't believe that it's only a matter of weeks for some of you..how exciting! 

I really need to start getting ready...

Thinking of you all even though I'm not posting &#11088;&#65039;&#128512;


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## rebecca822

Nimbec glad you're doing well!

Babies re good and keeping me busy. The hardest part is driving back and forth between home and the hospital. I'm pumping around the clock so they can feed the babies my breast milk (through NG tube).


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca has your dd met the twins or had any thoughts about them?

I've lost a pound this week down to 22 up. Eating hasn't been great, everything tastes bad. I get really upset when I make a lovely salad or something and it tastes aweful. My mom made me cabbage rolls and I could only eat half of one and had to freeze the rest bleh! 66more days...


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## rebecca822

2have, dd keeps asking to see them but she has a cold so we cannot bring her until she feels better. 
I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with eating :(


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## Fern81

Nimbec, so happy to hear from you and that you are doing OK! I hope you can manage to rest a bit during the holiday season... can't imagine being so busy and in third trimester. Hugs!!!! 

Rebecca - glad your babies are thriving. My sister also said the hardest thing for her when her twins were in NICU, was the driving up and down to hospital every day for feedings etc while looking after her dd and being back at work... BUT she does say it all goes by in a flash. You are an awesome momma for everything you are doing!!


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## Fern81

2have I have also been struggling with nausea and eating. You are so conscientious though I'm sure you are getting enough nutrition in one way or another. Almost done hun. X


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## Rq120

Rebecca - so happy the babies are doing well.

Fern - your getaway sounds amazing. Enjoy it!


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## froggyfrog

Hey ladies! 

Fern I really hope you are able to find some time to relax on your getaway! 

2have sorry you are still finding yourself so sick. It sounds like the babies are growing and getting what they need!

Rebecca I'm glad to hear how strong the babies are! That is amazing! Good for you for keeping up with the pumping, I'm sure it exhausting but that's what a good mommy does! 

Hope everyone else is doing well!

My weekly appointments start this week at the mfm, and then I start weekly appointments at the OB in two weeks. I'm so ready to not be going to the dr so much! Dh also found out that his surgery was not done correctly and possibly we might have a malpractice claim. His new dr wants to redo the surgery asap, so that may be in two weeks to try to hurry before the year is over since he already met his deductible, and so he has time to heal again before Gage comes. So stressful! I have also been occupied with a little kitten that was hanging out around my house. It has been extremely cold so I brought him in and have been trying to find him a home. Hopefully I find someone soon!


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## 2have4kids

Oh Froggy bless your heart for helping a wee kitten during the cold. I was a foster mom for pregnant female cats and they often needed a placement home for kittens that had been tossed away/kicked out in the cold. One winter we had a pregnant mom plus a brood of 4 kittens given to us right before Christmas. They loved the tree so much they knocked it over lol. 
Sorry to hear about your husbands surgery. Have you met with a solicitor yet about the malpractice? So much to do and so little time! As long as everyone is healthy in the new year right?

RQ how are you doing?

Nimbec don't forget to take some me time before baby comes. I'm working up till I give birth but my work is pretty relaxing and fun. When I get home DH has sorted out a cleaning lady for us and has DD well taken care of. It really helps that he's been so supportive. I hope you're doing OK and not stressing too much.

Fern hows the holiday time shaping up? Sorry to hear you've had nausea and troubles eating too. Not long, I think you'll be giving birth sooner than I will so hang on!

I've been sick over the weekend so we had a couple of hearth fires and movies while DD danced around and played with her toys. It was really nice. Thursday is my last day at work before 2 weeks off holiday time. Friday is my little sisters birthday dinner and we're going to have family & friends over to play games on on of the weekend evenings. Cleaning lady comes Thursday. I'm really looking forward to more time off!


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## Fern81

Froggy I'm sorry to hear you are going through an unnecessarily stressful time with your poor hubby! Ugh I really hope it's an easy fix.... 
At the same time I'm happy to hear about you taking in the kitten. Secretly jealous, I would love another one lol. Both my cats are rescues. 

We're finally on the road, leaving for our getaway. I'll probably be off the air until the weekend. Hope no-one goes into labour before then, I don't want to miss it ;) jk!!


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## froggyfrog

I'm still trying to find this kitty a home. He is so cute and sweet, but I have two big dogs who are intensely curious, so the constant having to make sure they are separate is taking a lot of energy! 

We haven't yet seen anyone about the malpractice. We are still trying to gather our info and make sure that he documented that he did procedures that he said he did, because unfortunately him telling us that he did something and not doing it isn't sufficient enough. That would be just his word against ours. It's looking like he billed the insurance for the procedure, and Friday we will see if he put it in the operation report. So that means insurance fraud, so we just have to see the op report and then that will be all of our proof. If we can provide all of that documentation then possibly his insurance will just cut a check since there is no denying it! We are not looking to get rich or anything, just compensation for dh taking off of work and what we paid out of pocket. 

2have, I'm super jealous of your cleaning lady! I want a cleaning lady!


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## froggyfrog

Update on kitty! He has a new home! A man wanted him to give to his girlfriend as an early Christmas present. She was VERY excited!


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## 2have4kids

Fantastic news! I hope they treat it well :bunny:


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## lace&pearls

Fern!!! :happydance: I was just popping back on the old Clomid club thread - do you remember me? ... I wanted to see how you were doing and then I saw your profile pic!!! Oh my goodness congratulations ! Sorry it's taken me so long to log on to b&b and discover your wonderful news! 

When are you due? Hope your pregnancy is going well x x I'm so pleased for you x


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## Rq120

Hi Everyone! I'm doing well. I was really uncomfortable on Sunday and Monday, but felt better on Tuesday/Wednesday. It matches my "cycle". Babies hit a growth spurt and I super uncomfortable for a day or three then everything gets stretched out and used to the growth and then I feel better. I had a horrid night of sleep Monday night, but I slept awesome last night. Much needed!

Froggy - best of luck with your husband's back. How frustrating!

The holidays are right around the corner. I'm just trying to get through this week and next and then I'm off work the week between Christmas and New Years. Can't wait.

Due date is getting closer!! Can you ladies believe it? I'm down to 4.5 weeks per my expected full term due date. Still working on our room. We were busy this weekend and mon/tue nights so we will do more organizing tonight! I hope to be all ready for babies by the end of this weekend. We have to pack a hospital bag soon!


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies! Things have been a bit hectic but I wanted to say hi!

Can't believe it's the final stretch! This is probably the hardest part as it's the most uncomfortable. Rq and 2have it's amazing that your babies are staying put! 
My kiddies are doing well! Their weights fluctuate up and down by a few gram but hopefully soon they will start to steadily gain weight. 
I got to give baby joe a sponge bath the other night, that was fun!


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## Rq120

Awe Rebecca, so glad to hear the babies are doing well. Thanks so much for the update. Yes, I am very thankful the babies are staying put AND are growing about a week ahead. They should be close to 4.5lbs a piece by now (assuming they are putting on about 0.5lbs a week). Everyone is starting to comment on when they think I will deliver, making their wagers. LOL. I'm hoping for AT LEAST 3 more weeks. Sending lots of prayers to your babies!


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## froggyfrog

So glad the babies are still thriving Rebecca!! 

Rq I get the same growing pains, they are awful sometimes. I have been feeling the baby lower, it feels like pressure right behind my pubic bone. I saw him today during our BPP and I have my first NST on Friday. I'll start having them weekly now, and my OB prefers that I do them at my MFM so that means two weekly appointments to the MFM and one weekly appointment to the OB. I'm going to try to do the OB on the same day as one of my MfM since they are all in the same building and I have to pay for parking. So I'm guessing that with those three appointments on top of dhs stuff, I'll probably be in a drs office every day during the week! Oh what joy! Lol. Baby is looking good though so I'm thankful for that!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca lovely that the babies are doing well and that you got to bathe baby Joe! 

RQ those are great weights! Anything over 36 weeks would be fantastic wouldn't it? Saying that I just booked us Philharmonic Orchestra tickets for Feb 11, 5 days away from my due date. I'm very aware that I'll likely be with babies by then, we'll work it out. It was a gift for DH and if I choose not to go he can take a friend.

Froggy I always get great pressure down there as baby gets nearer. They did the internal scan last week and babies head is right there sitting ready to get out. It was so uncomfortable when I went into labour I didn't enjoy sitting upright, laid back in bed was more comfortable. I don't know how some women bounce on the ball. My waters didn't break until she decided to come out so maybe that contributed to the pressure.

Oh man I'm happy to get over this cold ASAP! Can't breath. I'm off work early today for a hair appointment. And 1 more day of work until the holidays :happydance::bunny::dance::wohoo:


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## froggyfrog

Here is my newest bump pic!


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## 2have4kids

Lovely bump Froggy!


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## rebecca822

Great bump froggy!! I never got a good bump picture before the kiddies were born. Oh well. My belly is pretty flat and 90% back to normal


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## Fern81

Froggy- yay for finding a home for kitty! And oh man I hope you get the compensation you deserve. It sounds like an admin nightmare; hopefully the process is easier in the US though?? Oh my bump looks just like yours. :)

Every time I see a positive update on your twinnies I'm thrilled Rebecca :).

Lace &pearls- hi!!!! I'm due 3 feb with a boy and doing really well!! So nice of you to pop in. Can't believe your baby is already growing up too! Hope you are doing great. Xx

Rq and 2have - I agree, sooo happy that your twinnies are still baking. Fx for the next 3-4 weeks!

Our getaway was amazing. No TV, lots of chatting & reconnecting. So glad we did it. One special highlight - yesterday we went to a predator park and got to interact with lion cubs (which I loooovveee doing). The guide put a 2month old cub in my lap and it was just magical; a baby lion lying peacefully on my baby bump, staring into my eyes. She didn't want to get down lol, when it was time to leave she kept clinging to my legs with her massive paws ;).
Yep third tri sucks with aches and pains. Only a few more weeks though...


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## rebecca822

Hi from baby Joe
 



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## rebecca822

Hi from baby Alisa
 



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## Fern81

Hope everyone is doing well. 

I'm back in nesting mode, scrubbing and packing away baby stuff in between cleaning the house, cooking, doing laundry and cleaning the pool. All while H lies on the couch, researching boats & how to obtain a skipper's licence because the man decided to BUY A BOAT a few weeks before my due date. A BROKEN boat which he will have to spend thousands on. And the boat will be parked at his brother's house (an hour's drive away ) so guess where he will be spending his whole December and January's leave. I've decided that if I go into labour I'll just drive myself to hospital and send him a message to come over after baby is born. He hasn't spoken to me for 2 days; I'm not allowed to have an opinion on the boat and the costs involved, nor ask any questions, etc. Ugh. So we're back to real life. 
At least I have my baby :) that's all the family I need!


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## Fern81

Oh wow rebecca they are so precious and tiny and perfect!!!!


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## Fern81

What are everyone's plans for Christmas? We're having a family dinner here for dh's family on Saturday. We don't do the santa/Christmas tree thing at our house but do exchange small gifts. Looking forward, I really get along well with my parents-in-law; also dh's brother has stopped drinking (one month clean) so he is also much nicer lol.


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca the babies are so small and absolutely adorable!!! 

Fern I'm sorry that your husband is back to his old ways, I hope you are able to have a merry Christmas! It sounds like you will be in good company. Are your in laws excited about the baby?


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## froggyfrog

We are having a super quiet Christmas this year. All of our family lives a few states away and I'm too pregnant to travel. My parents and my mil and sil are coming after Gage is born so there is no way they could come here for Christmas too. I think we will just drink sugar free hot cocoa and watch Christmas movies. Maybe we will go to church. I didn't even put up a tree this year, I made one on the wall with lit garland, I'll post a oic


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## Rq120

Hi ladies! Finally I can get on the site. Since last week, for me at least, every time I clicked anywhere on a page a Walmart ad would pop up and the site would go no where.

Froggy - love the bump pic. You look so beautiful. Hopefully your monitoring goes well - sounds like A LOT of work to make all those appointments!

Rebecca - thanks for the pics of your precious babes. I'm so glad they are doing well!

Fern - I'm glad you had a great vacation, but sorry it fell apart so fast.....I guess the only thing I can say is focus on you?

I have been feeling pretty good the last few days. Had some very uncomfortable days last week, but then bounced back to feeling good again. Aches and pains went away for the most part and I started sleeping a little better also. As baby girl keeps getting bigger, I'm getting a little more pressure on my ribs but all still very bearable. I feel it the most at night when I get up to pee because she has settled there for several hours. I can start to feel baby boy more and it's making me happy because he has been hidden for so long! I finally felt him push out the other night and I could feel his body part from outside of my stomach. 

I think we got our baby room done and all shopping is done! My sister in law helped tremendously and spent prob close to 6 hours in the baby room last week. She organized and washed clothes and put everything away. What a god-sent. We went shopping this weekend and finished our must-have list. I used gift cards from my shower and still have plenty of money left. We are putting the money in an envelope for the babies later. I have been so blessed from hand-me-downs and my baby shower! Now I just need to pack a hospital bag.

Fern - we are not doing much for Christmas. DH's family just moved to Florida earlier this year and we always celebrated with them. With them gone, we are just going to relax and go see a movie later in the day. I will have dinner with my dad later Christmas night but it is really low key. My mom and I still are not talking (my choice at this point) so that covers all family.


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## froggyfrog

I have put my Christmas cards on the side lol


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## froggyfrog

Thank you rq! Yay for feeling baby boy! I know what you mean about feeling pressure where they have settled. I get that feeling when I'm laying in one spot for a while and then switch. How amazing you had so much help getting the baby room together!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca what beautiful angels they are!! As small as your hand <3

Fern I'm sorry about DH's behaviour. Focus on your plan and your long term goals. Mine are to grow old with lots of kids (hopefully grandkids too) around me. The rest will settle in the dust.

RQ lovely to get the nursery sorted hey? I just need to bring up my box of baby clothes and make a hospital bag and then we're all set. Have you got your hospital bag sorted? 

How's everyone else? 

We saw Rogue One with a friend on Friday and had a babysitter come in. It was lovely to get out and about without the wee one. Tonight mom's coming over to babysit while we meet up with some friends who are going back to Europe for the holidays. I also have 2 massages booked for today and tomorrow. It's really hard to get prenatal deep tissue masseurs but I managed to book in with a regular one and get a groupon for a new lady. 

I signed up with a local twins and multiples group that provides a library of equipment ie strollers, baths, bimbos and has great discounts and free donated clothing. We could use a second bumbo, some twin clothing, and some infant hiking backpacks but other than that I think the community will just be a great support group. 

I'm still not sleeping well, eyes burn and I feel like a zombie during the day. I can't wait till the babies come. But I hope it's not too early!


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## froggyfrog

I was looking at the calendar today and I will be induced at 39 weeks which is four weeks away! So crazy! 

Sorry you are not sleeping well 2have. Is there something you can take to help you rest?


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## 2have4kids

Thx froggy, it's the carpal/cubital tunnel making my hands zing & burn. Sometimes now I'm so exhausted I sleep right through the pain and wake not being able to move the muscles in my hands. I'm doing chiro, yoga & massage and taking turmeric, B6 (on top of my B multi), potassium & mag to no avail. Drinking loads of water...just need the babies out. 

4 weeks is getting close. Have they discussed their induction methods with you?


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so sorry to hear that things with DH are not going too well. I'm sorry that you are dealing with such stresses at this happy time in your life. 

Rq awesome job on the nursery glad it's done and awaiting babies :)

2have your babies will be born so soon! Only a few more uncomfortable weeks to go! It's amazing the difference not being pregnant. It's so much easier to move around and sleep. Not getting up to pee is awesome! I am waking every 4 hours at night to pump.

Froggy hooray for the countdown! Did you pick a date yet?


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## Fern81

Waaahhh froggy 4weeks! I can't wait until we're all on labour watch... well the rest of us after Rebecca ;). It all went by so fast.

Rq - nice to hear that you are still feeling good. I've downloaded ad blocker apps and disabled pop-ups so I haven't had issues with ads but LOTS of ladies on here had problems posting. It's ridiculous especially for a chat and support forum! Pls share pics of your nursery if you can. You are blessed with that SIL! It's hard work to clean and pack all the baby stuff :).

2have - oi you're going to be happy to sleep without pain... just a few more weeks...! For the few snippets of sleep that you will be getting then ;). At least every stage has its joys. And every stage passes. I agree with goals and trying to not let other people distract from them if possible. 

Rebecca- hope your beauties are still doing well. Has your dd had a chance to meet them yet?

Pinkie, nimbec, praying, ellie and everyone else, thinking of you and hope you have a blessed holiday time.

My nursery is kind of done. I'm trying to get the most urgent things cleaned and packed away first, so the cupboards are washed, all the consumables are packed away, all the tiny baby to newborn to 0-3 month clothes have been washed and packed. The carrycot where I hope he will sleep, is washed and so are some new sheets & pillowcases for my bed (ready in the cupboard ). The car seat is washed and my car got new tires & a service today, hoping to install the car seat tomorrow. The changing table is clean and sorted. My hospital bag is mostly packed according to the endless list I got from the hospital; I just need to pack 1 comfy shirt for labour, one extra set of pj's and clothes for discharge. Will do that at 37 weeks as I still want to wear all my maternity outfits for now of course! So I still need to hang new curtains, wash the stroller, wash/clean all the bath equipment, all the cot matresses, the cosleeper, etc etc... (all second hand so that's why it has to be washed!). Just doing a bit every day.


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## Fern81

Oh btw 2have my sister's multiples support groups have been amazing. Just to be able to chat with other ladies who "get" what she is going through, and can share helpful advice, has been a life saver for her. And of course selling and buying/exchanging quality used goods helps a lot. Glad you found a group right in your area!


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## Rq120

2have - I don't have my hospital bag sorted out yet, but I'm thinking I will do it this week or weekend. I think we will install the car seats sometime after the new year. I'm so glad you got a date night in. Those are important while you still can. DH and I try to get out as much as possible. I'm jealous of your massages. I have one scheduled 12/27 and I'm looking forward to it. I also found a local multiples group on facebook and they have been wonderful! I'm glad you found a similar group.

Fern - I am so blessed to have my SIL. I had her pick out going home outfits last night. She just sat there looking at clothes for an hour. She is SO EXCITED for her niece and nephew to come. She is making a headband holder for Claire. She is going to be such a blessing!

I would share pics of the nursery but it's really not much to see. Since we are moving early next year, we are not doing much to this house except for putting all the baby stuff in one room. I'm not decorating the walls or anything. We are not even setting up cribs. The babies will sleep in pack and plays in our room until we know further plans.

Rebecca - I'm looking forward to after the babies come. I know it will be a lot of work, but my most uncomfortable time is at night/laying down. I can't wait until I don't have to pee all the time and I can lay on my stomach!!!


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## rebecca822

Fern- dd has not met them yet because she's had a cough/cold with no relief! When I think she's starting to get better it starts all over again!

Rq it certainly feels great not to be pregnant. Babies are a handful but it's a nice transition for me that I don't need to care for them 24/7 quite yet. Although I'll be ready to go back to work around when they'll be coming home and I'll need to take a little extra time off that I wasn't anticipating.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca I hope your DD gets better soon. I haven't been able to see my dad in the nursing home for almost 3 weeks thanks to being sick. Not fun!

Ok we went to see Santa this year and while DD was a bit if a deer in the headlights Santa insisted on a freebie for us comparing bellies with me! I think he won lol


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## Rq120

2have - that is so funny!! Love it!

I have a check up today with the OB. No ultrasound, just the normal check up with Doppler and belly measurements. Not much going on for me. I'm just trying to finish up this work week so I can be off the next 10 days!! I leave work at 2:30 today for my appt and my office closes early Friday at 3pm. So not too much longer until vacation. 
I am making myself a to do list over vacation week that includes cleaning/sterilizing baby things (ie teethers, bottles, pacis, etc) and doing some research on car seats, my snap and go, and breast pump. Maybe some crafting during my down time while DH is at work. Oh, and the day after Christmas I go to my best friends wedding dress fitting and I'm going dress shopping for bridesmaids dresses. Obviously, I won't be trying any on! LOL


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## froggyfrog

Love the picture 2have, I had one similar saved to my Pinterest but never went and did it.

Rq sounds like a good Christmas vacation! Very eventful! 

Last night I was having Braxton hicks accompanied with pain in my middle right back, my right groin, and the right side of my bump for four hours.it was a constant pain that will intensify for a few minutes every 20-25 minutes. I called in and they told me to take Tylenol and drink water and lay down for an hour and if it didn't stop then to go ahead and go in. After an hour went by and that didn't help I called my mom who is an L&D nurse and she told me to take a benedryl, so I did and 30 minutes later I was feeling SO much better. Apparently it's an old trick to decipher between false labor and real labor. If it's false labor the benedryl will calm down the uterus.


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## Myshelsong

Just thought I would pop in and wish everyone a very merry Christmas and hope you are all doing well and have no issues with your pregnancies thus far, only a little more too go!!

I haven't read back, it is still just too much to handle. But we are moving forward with love and hope and have scheduled a January FET so our fingers are crossed this will be our new year miracle. We have three good quality embryos left and are going to transfer one at a time. I am trying to lose some weight, but it has not worked at all! Oh well, must eat chocolate.


Looks like Rebecca had two beautiful babies a few weeks ago, congratulation Hun. I hope they are doing well. (((Hugs)))


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## rebecca822

Awesome picture 2have!

Rq good luck today at your OB.

Michelle! Hope you're doing ok so glad you're doing an FET next month. Wishing you the best of luck and I hope you get a nice sticky bean!


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## Fern81

Myshel- so glad to hear you have FET plans going forward. I'll be stalking your journal if you don't mind? And sending you massive positive thoughts and prayers. 

2have - love the pic :) hilarious! 

Rq- enjoy your vacation time after your hard work especially on weekends. Hope you have some time to relax between all your projects ;) although it's so nice to get things done and get the lists checked.

Rebecca - aww your poor dd! Hope she gets better soon. Colds and flus that last for weeks on end are the worst. :(

Froggy- hmm sounds like your uterus is in prep mode! How exciting! Interesting about the benadryl. Btw I'm just curious, are you getting an induction by choice or because of the high risk pregnancy? I'm scheduling an induction for baby's due date (3 feb) so if he doesn't arrive before then he will definitely not be late. My dr also doesn't want him overdue. And I think I've mentioned this before but in RSA (amongst patients who utilize the private health care system), elective cs are super common, also inductions just purely because mom chooses. Almost everyone I know have had elective c sections.

Afm- I put myself on bed rest for the day :) was just feeling more tired, sore and emotional than usual. So glad I did, feeling rested tonight! Hopefully I'll have energy for tomorrow's bikini wax :/ and cleaning another large item! Maybe the co-sleeper.


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## froggyfrog

Myshel it's so good to hear from you! I'll be with fern and stalking your journal for your fet! 

Fern, my MFM has it down in my chart to induce at 39 weeks because of my GD. I started having problems keeping my fasting numbers under the limit. They were going above by 3-5 points so she put me in 500 mg of metformin and that seems to have helped a lot! I think because of that reason they don't want him in there too long, but it's not an emergency so they will wait until the 39 week mark.


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## Fern81

Thx froggy, I'm always so curious about people's opinions and decisions and reasons :) 39 weeks is nice and full term and ALMOST HERE!


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## Rq120

Froggy - Thanks for sharing the Benadryl tip. I had no idea. 

Myshelsong - I don't know if you will check back on here, but much love and prayers to you. I'm glad you checked in. I have been thinking of you!!! 

My appointment with the OB went well. A quick in/out. The heartbeats were both around 145. The doc was super happy with how everything is going. I will start going weekly. She said "everything is looking good for January babies". My next ultrasound is Jan 3rd. 

Yesterday I got a call at 1:15pm. It was the HR manager at my DH's work. At first, I was afraid something had happened to him but he was ok. They were planning a surprise baby shower for him at 3pm and wanted to see if there was any way I could attend. My MD appt was at 3pm and I couldn't cancel it without notice so unfortunately I couldn't attend. However, DH was supposed to go to the doctor's office with me so I had to call him and tell him that "my appointment was cancelled". They had pink/blue cupcakes and cookies and we got more clothes and toys (which is great). I thought it was SO SWEET of them! Today I had to go over to his building and meet/personally thank some of his coworkers (we work two buildings away from each other).


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## rebecca822

Rq I'm glad your appointment went well. Aww That's so sweet of DH' coworkers!


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## Fern81

Great news rq! You're getting thoroughly spoiled with all the baby showers, how nice. 

Had my 34 week appointment today. Baby is head down and facing my back; still measuring large but his growth didn't measure as high as the previous time; dr says it might be that he had just been going through a growth spurt a month ago. Dr said she will still support my decision for natural birth but with his size she might advise against it lol... although at this stage it's still my decision to follow her advice or not! So far I'm still really keen to try naturally. I only have one more appointment left with her (at 37 weeks)! 

My bp was a bit elevated (not too high yet) and my haemoglobin studies are a bit low (not anaemic yet) so I'm to take my bp more often and increase my iron supplements. So glad that my dr does sooo many tests. 

We're cleaning for tomorrow's Christmas eve party, phew exhausted! Looking forward.


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## Rq120

I was doing pretty well at work yesterday and I got in my car after work and had this horrible pain/stitch in my side. Had it off and on all last night. Just the babies growing in there and running out of room. I know I have been very very blessed to get this far with only minimal discomfort. I am working from home today and I'm sitting in a recliner with my computer on my lap. Feeling better today but still very full of babies :)


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## Fern81

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate xx hope you have a blessed day xx

We just spent 2 days cleaning and cooking & decorating for an "African summer" theme Christmas eve party (no winter solstice tree for me) and then dh's family only stayed for gifts & dinner and then left lol... about 3-4 hours in and out! I insisted that we have an alcohol free dinner because dh's one brother is trying to recover from alcoholism. And I've noticed that the alcohol free parties never last as long as those with lots to drink! Oh well it was a nice event, dh and I worked well together to get everything ready and got along well! I'm so happy about that. 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend with lots of time to sit down and rest ;).


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, happy holidays, whatever you celebrate. We're off to a friends' house for a potluck dinner tonight and then off to mom's tomorrow. 

My OB called and left a message Thursday, I forgot my appointment:dohh:
Woops. Busy week even with having time off work. 

I hope everyone is able to relax. Fern it sounds like a nice dinner party even if it was short. Better to be short n sweet than long and filled with rude alcoholic problems. 

I cooked us a really great breakfast and I didn't get sick :happydance::bunny::dance:
Eggs benny over spurdough english muffin, turkey snorkers with mushrooms and asparagus


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## elliecain

Happy Christmas! I hope everyone has a lovely day today, filled with love and happiness xx


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## froggyfrog

Hope everyone has a great day!


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## rebecca822

Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah! We celebrate Hanukkah :)
2have- McKinley is adorable and yummy breakfast!!
I like you picture froggy!


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## froggyfrog

Happy Hanukkah Rebecca!


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## Fern81

Happy Hanukkah Rebecca!! Hope you and your family have a blessed day :) how are the babies?

Froggy- I love the pic!! Lol he is getting so big and squishy XD when was that scan pic taken?


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## froggyfrog

That pic was from Friday, we are getting scans every Friday now and NSTs on tuesdays.


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## rebecca822

Babies are doing great! They are about 1500 grams. We took dd to meet them today for the first time. They are behaving and hopefully going to be home in the next few weeks. I think another 3-4 weeks.
They started to dress them and swaddle them. Until now they were naked in the incubator and now they get to wear clothing. The next step is moving them to a regular bassinet in a few weeks. 
Can't wait for you guys to have your babies it's going to be so much fun!!


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## Rq120

I hope everyone had a great Christmas/Hanukkah. I'm off this week so I'll check in but prob not write much. It's hard to write extensive updates on a smart phone.


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## Fern81

Enjoy your week off rq! 

Rebecca it's such good news that the twins are making progress. X

I've been reading along with the January due date group (because I honestly expect my son to show up at the end of Jan, my due date is 3Feb) and it's so exciting to read how some ladies are in labour or pre-labour, almost our turn! I'm rapidly getting extremely uncomfortable and although I'm still petrified at the thought of having a newborn AND I'm going to miss feeling him move around, for the past few days I've been looking forward to not being pregnant anymore.

I made a deal with dh that he has to help me sort out and wash the rest of the nursery stuff before the end of the week. Hope it gets done!


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## rebecca822

Rq enjoy your time off!

Fern I know what you mean. I do miss being pregnant and feel like part of the experience was taken away from me. I'm so grateful my babies are doing well but I'm sad it didn't happen the way I had envisioned.
Good for you that you are getting DH to help you with the nursery I hope he will step up with LO when the time comes.

Babies are gaining nicely and are 1615 and 1630 grams tonight. We're getting there :)


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## Fern81

Aaahh your babies are growing up Rebecca! Shame hun I'm sorry that you're a bit sad too, I totally get why. Life never turns out like we envision it hey. Xx

Pff so my husband let me down BIG TIME no surprise there... he helped me for about 2 hours then LOST IT in a fit of rage when I left the room to get a pencil to mark on the wall where he wanted a portrait to be hung (how DARE I leave the room without asking!?) Then he gathered up everything I wanted to put on the walls, most of it handmade by his mom, and tried to storm out to throw it in the trash... I had to stand in the doorway and physically block him... sooo that's all he did.... and then informed me that he's going to leave me here on my own for 4-5 days over new year's to go to the coast with his alcoholic @$$hole brother. He leaves tonight or tomorrow morning. Huge shock to me but IDK why I even bother with him anymore. I just have to accept I'm married to a heartless idiot who doesn't care one iota about me or my son. At least he accepted another (additional ) job (without discussing it with me of course) to start next week (this on top of him already working 6am-11pm daily) so he won't be a part of our lives except financially. It sucks but it's my own fault for marrying him.


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## Fern81

"And so are the days of our lives ;)"....


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## rebecca822

Fern you can't blame yourself for marrying him. He sounds dreadful but it's not your fault. Hugs!


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## Rq120

That sucks Fern :(

I'm getting very uncomfortable also. Some days are better than others. Just trying to rest!

I can say I think I am finally ready for these babies (everything organized, hospital bag packed, etc). DH is off with me for the next 5 days. We are making 30-40 freezer meals today. 

Went to a check up yesterday. Everything was good. I have an ultrasound Tuesday and it will be important because depending of their locations it will determine a vaginal delivery or a c-section. Baby A MIGHT be breech now but we will know Tuesday.


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## 2have4kids

Fern, I'm sorry DH is acting like a juvenile, how far away is your hospital and are you able to either call a friend or the ambulance if you can't drive? There's no way that I could have driven myself last time, mind you we waited 4 hours for my labour to progress. I have to get there withing 2 hours this time as they think this one will go even faster than last. I'm concerned for you because you don't know how fast you'll get from 0 to 10(cm) as this is your first. 

I'm glad to hear everyone is relaxing and almost ready for babies to come. 

My health is pretty crappy these days and I can't keep up with DD. I'm going to be calling in sick much more in Jan if I feel this crappy. My feet & ankles are massive, I'm still barfing, can't test without arms going numb. Stuffed up everyday. My right shoulder regularly pops out of socket. I'm really looking forward to meeting these babies!!!!!! Today I vomited my lunch with such force both nostrils started bleeding, oh yea and I get regular nose bleeds now. Uggg! I never thought I'd complain with pregnancy but this is really horrific. DH leaves what I call yellow bananas for me regularly ie I shovelled 1/2 the driveway where the SUV gets parked and I go to jump in to drive to my massage appointment and he's parked so that I have to step in a deep snowbank to get into the car. Tank is on empty and my jacket vets filthy because he can't wash it (I've done it at least twice in the past month). I stayed up till 2am and cleaned everything up in the kitchen after a games night with friends and in the morning I go to make my breakfast and he's got stuff strewn across the counter as he wanted to get into the mandrine Orange box. There's a bowl of mandrines on the island ready to eat. It goes on and on. Am I being a perfectionist by not wanting to have to step into a deep snowbank in order to drive my car? He's a great dad and cares for her 75% of the time now but *!?%! he pisses me off sometimes. I take great care to make things easier for both of us and feel like his thoughtlessness makes up for any/all effort that I spend energy on.:dohh:

Sorry for the rant ladies. I hope to come back less tired and more happy next post xx


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## Fern81

2have - thanks for the concern but I should be fine. My parents are both retired and live about 5min from me. Also if H is home I'll ask him to take me/drop me off. If I do decide/am able to drive myself, the hospital is 10-15 min away. 
Ugh you're suffering a lot!! Only a few more weeks hun, just take it day by day. You're not perfectionistic at all, men should be more considerate. It's a freaking global issue!! 

Rq - 30/40 freezer meals!? I'm super jealous!! Send some my way ;). Hope you get your vb if that's what you want.

Everyone else, hi!! Hope you are all doing well, we need some updates ;) almost labour watch time for the front runners!

So after me crying the whole morning yesterday, H got in his car and left around noon. I still can't believe he did it. I mentioned to my mom and sis that I'm home alone and my family proceeded to freak out lol... my mom came to get me and is forcing me to at least spend the nights with them hehe at least they care!!


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## froggyfrog

Fern I'm so sorry that you are still dealing with his crap. I'm really happy that your mom has made you come stay with them, I know that you had once said that you thought your family would blame you if you left your husband, but doesn't him leaving you alone for the weekend when you 35 weeks pregnant show anything? 

Rq sorry your dh is irritating you too! 

Rebecca so glad to hear that the babies are getting big! 

Rq I hope that the babies get into the right position so that you can have the delivery you want.

I'm currently sitting at the surgery center waiting on dh. He is having his revision done today. So hope all goes well! I saw Gage this morning and he is weighing approximately 6lb 8oz so he will probably be around 8 lbs at birth. I started eating six dates a day because there have been studies that show that dates soften the cervix, and the midwife also confirmed that she backed those studies. I also started taking evening primrose once a day because it does this same. I'm hoping that if I can soften it enough that my induction won't take so long.


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## 2have4kids

Froggy all the best with DH's revision and good luck with the dates/evening primerose oil. I love dates & figs. We've had figs over Christmas (they're a treat rather than chockies) but I'll scoop some dates up next time I shop.


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## froggyfrog

2have, It's really interesting to read about the dates studies. she also mentioned drinking two cups of red raspberry leaf tea a day, it's recommended that all of these are started at 36 weeks.


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## Rq120

Froggy - hope your DH is doing well after revision. 

2have - you sound miserable. Poor thing. I think we are all getting there but I don't have nearly as much to suffer through. And DH being selfish on top of it doesn't help. 

Today was another productive day. DH and I finished up the feeezer meals. Yesterday and today we made 43 meals and 6 side dishes. DH did an awesome job. We finished up some today and SIL helped so I just sat and read the recipes to them. DH and I also took back all the duplicate baby items from the shower. Now we have a few gift cards to use when necessities arise. 

Still uncomfortable this week. Just getting expected end of pregnancy aches and pains. Pelvis and inner thigh pain. It's hard to lift my legs up sometimes. I have been taking a bath every night.

DH got a pre-baby haircut today and we both got pedicures. Trying to get all of our personal care items in before babies come. I had my gifted massage on Tuesday and it was heavenly. I think we are finally good to relax the next 3 days. Agenda is finally finished!


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## Rq120

Fern - I'm glad you have family close if needed. I'm sorry you have to go through all of this...


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## Fern81

Froggy- interesting! I hope the dates help!! Dates are so expensive here though, otherwise I would have done it too as I love them. Hope your hubby is in minimal pain and recovers speedily. Xx your turn for hospital soon!

Btw are we all planning on hospital births? 

Rq- wow you've been productive! So what do the meals include? And are they different meals eg lunches and dinners or only dinners? 

My nursery stuff is almost done, I still need to wash a few second hand items (cot matress, cosleeper matress, swing, a whole huge container full of bottles and other plastic ware) and pack some stuff away. And I have a list of stuff to buy. But most of the newborn stage things are clean and packed away and so is most of my hospital bag! Then to start on my own freezer meals. Phew!


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## Fern81

Ooohh and my pre-labour haircut & highlights, pedicure and bikini wax are all booked for the week just before I hit 38weeks :) hope I'm not leaving it too late!


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## 2have4kids

Fern81 said:


> Ooohh and my pre-labour haircut & highlights, pedicure and bikini wax are all booked for the week just before I hit 38weeks :) hope I'm not leaving it too late!

:haha: good for you Fern!! I'm right in there too. Did the highlights and nails before Christmas, having massages every week to help deal with the numb arms, and the cut, wax, and eyelashes are getting done in 2 weeks. I always get eyelash extensions so I don't need to do mascara for vacations & DD's labour too. The cleaning lady came last week. Feeling very pampered lately despite everything!


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## Fern81

Eyelash extentions is a great idea! I should totally work that into my schedule too :) and I'm going to start interviewing cleaning ladies/nannies in Jan; to start with one or two days a week. I'm very controlling when it comes to my house and how I want it to be cleaned (different cloths for bath tub and toilet, use a different cleaning cloth per room, wash your hands after cleaning a room or before touching any clean dishes etc... comes from having a degree in microbiology) so it's always hard for me to allow someone else to clean.


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## Fern81

It's after midnight in RSA. I've been watching netflix so still awake. Hope you all have a blessed and positive 2017!


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## froggyfrog

Happy new year fern! We are planning a hospital birth. 

You ladies enjoy pampering yourselves! Sounds amazing! We won't be able to afford extras right now because of dh being off of work. The new surgeon was absolutely shocked by what he saw when he went in, there was so much that he had to do in there, he said it looked like a bomb went off inside. Dh is off of his leg for four weeks. He will probably be on crutches when the baby is born.


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## rebecca822

Happy news year! 
Rq you sound so productive it's amazing what you accomplished! 
Froggy enjoy those dates I hope it works!
Fern it's great how much you've done for your LO, is that the last of things to do? YOur family seems great and supportive! 
2have I'm so sorry about how horrible you've been feeling. The good news is You're almost there!! 

We got the car seats, double stroller and crib bedding ordered. I have lots of clothes for size 0-3 months but now I need to get some for newborn size so they can wear it right away. The babies are 3lbs and 12 oz and growing nicely. I hope they will be home in 2-3 weeks.
Tomorrow I will go shopping and buy diapers, wipes, bottles, pacifiers, etc.


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## Rq120

35 weeks today. Two week countdown!! Crazy!
That is why I have been so productive! We are running out of time. 

Fern - the freezer meals are dinners. We could heat some up for lunch but I doubt we will. We have a lot of variety. A bunch of different recipes that DH complied from different internet sites. So glad they are done. We were able to relax a lot yesterday and today. We have tomorrow off also. 

Froggy - crazy about DH back and what the surgeon found. Sucks that he will be down and out during the toughest time of your pregnancy. I hope he heals fast!

Happy new year all!!


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## Fern81

Rq- I can't remember now! Are you getting a cs, waiting to try vb with natural labour, or getting an induction? 2 weeks until full term is awesome and scary!

Rebecca - hope everything you've ordered arrives soon and that your babies don't have to stay in the hospital for too much longer. 

How is everyone doing?

I'm really big and uncomfortable! Haven't done any work on the nursery for a few days, just literally lying around from bed to couch! I feel like a cat. A huge, exhausted cat who can't move around! I've also noticed a lot of cellulite on my legs suddenly, yikes! I'm going to try my best to swim or walk tomorrow again but I've just been out of breath and exhausted these past few days. Ugh my husband is coming home tonight and I'm so stressed out :/.


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## rebecca822

Rq yay for your two week countdown that's so soon! 

Fern I know the feeling well, you'll feel so much more comfortable once you give birth.

Here's a picture from today of the kiddos. They're just 4 pounds (1835 grams).
 



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## Rq120

Awe Rebecca - so sweet!!!

Fern - I'm getting an ultrasound tomorrow and that will dictate whether we do a c-section or a vb.


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## 2have4kids

Happy new years ladies, I wish you all smooth deliveries and a wonderful year of baby firsts, smiles, and giggles. 

Froggy sorry to hear about your DH and the situation it's put you in. Did they confirm that you have a legitimate malpractice claim then? I hope so. 

Rq all the best with your us.

Rebecca very sweet! So small:flower:

I'm going to ask my doctor on Thursday to get me off work, I can barely function anymore :cry: I've been barfing all day/week, wake with headaches everyday, can't sleep, my feet swell to high heaven and arms feel numb all the time. I can't believe how things have changed in 2 weeks! I've gone from 24 pounds up to 41 since Dec 20. I've been in bed mostly the past few days & miserable. I feel bad not being able to help DH with DD:cry:

We called for a babysitter to help me out while DH was visiting his bro on New Years Eve and DH left a message with the girl who helped us last Christmas during our renos. The mother called us back and shortly after she babysat for us last year she rolled her car and passed away! I've been so upset all day and can't stop blubbering. She was a really lovely girl who'd just been accepted into uni. Her fb page is now a memorial. Just feeling aweful today :cry:


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## Rq120

2have - that is awful news about your babysitter. How sad! 
I'm sorry you are feeling so poorly. I was feeling really awful last Mon, Tues, and Wed. I was in a lot of pelvic pain and having trouble lifting my legs, but I seem to have gotten better. At least where it is very tolerable. You have just been having a terrible time this trimester/pregnancy. I would wish the babies to come out soon, but you know how it is....the longer they incubate the better they are off.

I'm anxious for my MD appt today. I'm interested to see what the doc says and what our plan is since full term/37 weeks is only 12 days away. 

Back to work today after being off for 10 days. It was hard to get going and everyone is surprised to see me. LOL. DH is going to leave work as soon as the babies are born and they were surprised to see him today too. I keep hanging in there. 

Best wishes to everyone as we get closer!


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## rebecca822

Rq good luck on your scan,I hope you can have a VB! 
2have I'm so sorry about how awful you're feeling I'm sure your ob will give you documentation so you can stop working. That's just horrible about the babysitter so sad!!


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## Fern81

Froggy somehow I thought I had replied to your post regarding your dh :dohh: geez I'm glad another surgeon could fix the mess! Unbelievable. Hope he heals soon and that he's not in a lot of pain. 

Rq - I also hope you get your vb, I saw a twin vb on "one born every minute" a week ago and it was so exciting to watch :).

2have - I feel so, so sorry for you. Having all those symptoms and then not being able to sleep on top of it all, sounds like torture. Please vent on here as much as you want, I'm sure we all get that loving our babies but disliking or even hating the more unpleasant side effects of pregnancy are two very separate emotions!! I had to EXPLAIN to my mom that me saying my back is sore or that I'm tired, does not mean that I'm not grateful for my baby pfff!


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## 2have4kids

Thanks Fern, after SOOOOO much effort that we've all put in to getting our lo's it feels sacrilegious to complain, especially when twins are such a dream come true for me. But omg just shoot me now please, I'm fing miserable. Could not stop crying the last two days but I think the lack of sleep is getting to me in that way of not being able to control my emotions. It's felt like I've been really sick and in a bit of a dream state. I've just printed off the leave forms here at work and will get them to my OB on Thursday. 2 more days potentially for me dragging my sorry arse into work at least. It was -21 degrees C to boot this morning.

I've had some small chats too with my mom about how even though I complain I'm not ungrateful for twins. She keeps hinting that it won't get easier after birth. I think those first 3 months are actually the easiest based on our first DD. There were a few tricks that helped us help her sleep through the night...supplementing with formula, using probiotics and switching to probiotic infused formula for colic rather than gripe water (SMH that stuff is pure alcohol, I don't know how ppl think gripe water helps colic!) Also helped with her yeast infections/red bum as they have no immune system and probiotics gets that kick started for them. But I think working at daycares and as a nanny in between university summers helped me with understanding which things help and which don't with some of these things. Trying to do breast milk only when your lo is crying all night long just means they prob aren't getting enough and you have to let yourself off the hook. The body can only do so much! I'm not stubborn in any way so when they cry for more and I think my body isn't producing I yelled at the nurse our first night to just help her out and get her some formula. She slept soundly for 3 hours after that and I was able to replenish my reserves. So for my mom this was a hard hard time (she had no pump either and couldn't produce enough milk that I needed as a baby) so she feels it'll be really difficult with 2 newborns which for us with 1 was actually easy and very rewarding. We still get up once to twice per night to feed her milk with DD as she's growing soooo fast and so tall. We switch off and it makes things easier. Maybe that's the other part, having a partner working from home to share the burden with.


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## Rq120

MD appt went well yesterday. The babies are both head down and doing well. They both weigh (estimated) right around 5.5 lbs. So they are still growing ahead and doing well.

I got my group B swab and while the doc was down there she checked my cervix. I'm 4cm dilated and 75% effaced! I think she was surprised, but said I'm doing great. She said my body is ready, just waiting on contractions. She also lectured me on making sure if I feel ANY differently I come in to get checked. She doesn't necessarily want me to wait until I can time contractions to a certain point. I *might* be a little stubborn and she doesn't want me to wait until it's too late. So she made sure my husband heard all of that. LOL


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## 2have4kids

Wowzers RQ, here we go!! Will you be the next to give birth or what? I'm tempted to ask the sonographer to see how thick my uterus is to see if things have changed at all. While I want the babies to come soon to get out of this misery I'd like it to be after 36/37 weeks so they're fully developed. I still have 2+ weeks to go. 

Any more check ups at this point? I can't believe how many ladies we seem to have lost along the way on this thread esp when it's just getting exciting!
Froggy you're up next in dd and then Fern, Pinkie, RQ, Praying and then myself for the last part of Jan/first part of Feb. And then the last half of Feb ladies...


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## elliecain

I'm still here and I always read, but I'm only nearly 30 weeks so feel a bit out of sync!


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## Fern81

Rq I bet you have your babies within the next two weeks! 

2have - I know, I would love to know how praying, pinkie etc is doing :) I don't think they come on bnb anymore? Well it's still exciting albeit on a slightly smaller scale XD. 

Hi ellie!! How is third tri treating you?

Yep froggy is also up soon! 

I have my last doctor's visit next week Thursday (37 weeks). She will probably do the group b strep then, also an internal exam & transvaginal us to view baby's position. She's also checking his size again as he's been measuring quite big; and will make her recommendation of cs vs vb. And then the next time I see her should be on the day I deliver! It's getting so real. I must admit I'm feeling panicky. It doesn't help that my marriage is in such a state. I'm just determined to do the best I can for this child!


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## 2have4kids

I've seen Pinkie in some other threads before Dec and Beemack recently too as Boopin is now pregnant again :dance::bunny:

Fern you're almost at the finale, have you got your hospital bag packed? I need to get some newborn outfits out and the bag packed and the tens machine for the labour pain. It really helped on the car ride over to the hospital and waiting in the hospital for them to get it together before my epidural. 

I hope your DH behaves in the next few weeks to help you out and make you feel reassured. That's a very small thing that means so much. Yes marriage is a rollercoaster at the best of times but please, let them behave well during our time of need yes? If mine tells me to try to go back to sleep and get some rest before baby comes while I'm in labour this time I'm going to slug him one!:haha:


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## froggyfrog

Hey ladies! 

Rq I can't believe you are so dialated! Your next I bet!

Fern I hope your dh can behave and finds the will to help you out these next few weeks!

I'm looking at a two week countdown starting today! I have been doing all of my home stuff to make my cervix favorable, which last week was closed tight and thick! I haven't heard back about strep b so I'm assuming that means all is good, I will double check when I go in on Friday. I have hospital bag stuff in a pile, but not in an actual bag so I need to do that, and I still haven't installed the car seat base yet, so I guess I'll be doing that this weekend! Dh is still in a lot of pain so that has been hard trying to take care of him and do everything else. I haven't really been sleeping well, but slept until 10 am this morning so I'm feeling better today!


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## rebecca822

Wow Rq 4cm!! I'm giving you a week :) lol

Crazy how close you guys are to giving birth!! Can't wait for all the fun!


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## Rq120

Yeah, the doc didn't seem to think I would make it much past a week, but again you never know. Basically she said I could go tomorrow or a week + from now. All women are so different, but she was happy that my body/babies was favorable for a vb. I don't have a thing against C-Sections and I would actually get paid leave longer if I had a c-section, but I would prefer to avoid getting cut on if I can help it. She did say she didn't think I would make it past 37 weeks so I shouldn't have to worry about induction.
If I can make it to this weekend I will be 36 weeks. With the babies growing ahead, the doc seemed happy with that. 
DH has a massage scheduled for tomorrow evening. I know it sounds silly but I would like to hold out past his massage so he can get his pampering session in before the babies come. He deserves it. Also, we have a very nice dinner planned with our friends for Sunday evening. Not sure we will make that....

2have - I was just thinking the same thing the other day, that I can't believe how many "regulars" that dropped off the thread. Kinda sad. I know the post will prob die sometime after all the babies are born (busy lives and all of that), but it is fun to share our pregnancy journeys (and infertility journeys) with each other.

Ellie - it's good to see you! You are not so far away. Feel free to share if so inclined.

Fern - I agree with your comment. I does suck that your marriage is in such a state, but you need to focus on you. Just do what you can do and let the rest fall where it may for right now. Besides, once he comes all you will be focused on is your little bundle of joy!

Froggy - Ahhhh, so close. I can't imagine trying to tie up all these loose ends with a down and out hubby. God bless both of you! I got my hospital bag all packed up this past weekend and DH installed our car seat bases last night. I was so glad he did because it has gotten cold the last few days and I didn't want to go outside (even in the garage)!

So as I finish writing this I feel baby boy specifically pushing/moving on my cervix. LOL. I think he is ready to come out. I have been avoiding all the things/wives tales that are supposed to bring on labor (sex, pineapple, bouncing on a ball, etc). I'm trying to keep them brewing for as long as I can. We will see.....


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## 2have4kids

Rq120 said:


> 2have - I was just thinking the same thing the other day, that I can't believe how many "regulars" that dropped off the thread. Kinda sad. I know the post will prob die sometime after all the babies are born (busy lives and all of that), but it is fun to share our pregnancy journeys (and infertility journeys) with each other.

I was on a thread from last year when DD was born and some of the ladies still post photos. We saw newborn, Halloween goblins and a few other randoms. It was nice to hear what everyone was up to and who was ttc again. Hopefully there'll be some updates on this thread too. 

Well if you go sometime next week it seems that would be ideal:flower: get your dinner in and DH's massage. There's a song from one of my favourite music groups Pink Martini called Hang on Little Tomato that I always think of when baking these sprogs. If you've never heard of Pink Martini I highly recommend them, the lady sings in 7 different languages and have a small orchestra within the band. They choose only really classic music to play, DH and DD love them!

Well this morning is my OB appt where I ask to be booked off on a paid sick leave until delivery. I went to a Shoppers Drug Mart to test my blood pressure last night and it was 165 over 93:haha: I don't think I'll have issues convincing her that I'm soooo DONE.


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## Rq120

Good luck 2have. I'm sure she will put you on leave!


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## 2have4kids

Thx RQ, she put me on leave:bunny::dance: sent me to triage after she saw my blood pressure and after 3 hours of monitoring they checked me in. My bloods had one test that was abnormal and the strip tested positive for urine proteins so they want to quantify the protein before they send me home. Hopefully it's not too high and they can discharge me tomorrow.


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## rebecca822

Oh wow 2have. Glad you got the early maternity leave. I hope they let you go home soon!!


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## 2have4kids

Hey Rebecca, how are your lo's doing? How is the pumping going? Are you able to bf them yet?
My blood pressure went right down when I was in bed yesterday evening so the nurse said they'll likely put me on rest until I deliver. They want me to book in once/week now and will likely do more tests during appointments but I just really appreciate being off work and paid until delivery. It keeps my hours accumulating for maternity leave pay too. 

How's everyone else doing? My hospital bag is now packed:haha: and I got 2 little snuggly going home outfits with knitted caps from a co-worker on my last day. All set, bring on the babies!


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## rebecca822

2have the LO's are doing great. They're talking about sending them home next week or the following week. Pumping is getting exhausting but I have a great supply and I am pumping more than double what they both need every day. I bf them once a day for 10-15 minutes and I love it! Once they get better at eating I can start doing it more often. Even after nursing them they still give them a full bottle. 

Rest up!!


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## Fern81

Rebecca- hope you can take them home really soon! I remember you mentioned that you will be getting full time childcare. Will that start when they are home? That should be an enormous help!

2have - goodness take it easy! The bp and protein in urine is scary but I'm so relieved that you are on leave and on rest. Hope your dh does his part so that you can take it as easy as possible.

There are going to be a lot of babies on here soon, with more to look forward to (ellie, nimbec etc)!

Such a cool/freaky thing happened to me. This morning I wanted to do a perineal massage and JUST as I inserted my thumb, I could clearly feel my baby's head! Ok it's not sticking out of my cervix ;) but palpable through the vaginal wall, low down. Two days ago I definitely didn't feel it. And I wasn't expecting it at all, even though I had been doing baby positioning exercises (had no idea that feeling the head was possible!). Of course now I keep thinking I'm going to give birth at any moment lol... Went out to buy enormous amounts of food for the freezer and am starting my freezer meals ASAP. The nursery is basically done, hospital bag packed, car seat installed, all my second hand stuff scrubbed.... Mentally I don't feel ready at all though! I'm very nervous. Just have to take it day by day.

Regarding the hospital bag: I've had to pack so much, we all received a list of requirements when we attended the hospital's prenatal classes. Eg 5 full sets of newborn clothes, each with a receiving blanket, each set in its own clear plastic ziplock bag. 3 sets of pj's for me (I'm taking leggings and comfy shirts/tanks). Snacks and drinks. All vitamins and chronic meds. Comfy large t-shirt for labour. Going home outfit for mom. Robe and slippers. Toiletries for 3 days. Lip balm and entertainment for labour. Maternity pads, feeding bras, breast pads, underwear... The list goes on and on! I like to be prepared though. Everything is packed except a few items of my own clothes that I'm still wearing, and bottles of water and sports drinks. Oh yeah and I need to wash the pillow that I'll be taking along. I just can't sleep on any other pillow than my own (not that I expect to sleep much as I have severe insomnia issues, can't sleep in a strange place, can't sleep with any lights or sounds, can't sleep when my brain doesn't calm down... Lol all of those apply after birth I guess!). Time is going to FLY by.

Oh and I wanted to share- for those of you who will have a c-section or epidural: my midwife advised having a cappuchino before the operation, as the caffeine helps counteract a possible "spinal headache". :) Also: take a good quality probiotic during pregnancy, with as many strains as possible, so that the birth canal is coated in healthy flora. During vaginal birth the baby will swallow these microorganisms and it helps baby's gut to mature faster & helps relieve/prevent colic. Probiotic drops can also be given to vb and cs babies, for the same reason. In case anyone wants to consider her advice!


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## Rq120

Rebecca - so glad the babies are doing well! I'm praying they get to come home soon. You are such a strong mamma! 

2have - scary about your BP but I'm glad it came down! I hope you get to come home today. Keep us updated!

AFM, I'm still hanging in there. Everyone was really surprised to see me at work today. I'm just trying to enjoy the babies in my belly while I can. Such an amazing thing.

Funny...today I got an email from a customer asking if I could fly to Florida on Jan 17-18 to help test their pharmacy software. I visited their site earlier this year and they loved me and wanted to see if I could come again. Made me chuckle a little. I'm leaving the response up to the sales rep and my boss. I'm sure they will work on finding another resource. I thought it would be fun to reply with just a current pic of me. :) They wouldn't even let me on a plane right now!


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## Rq120

Fern - that is a lot to pack! I didn't bring a whole lot for the baby. Just a few onesies and a going home outfit. The hospital should supply the rest for me (ie blankets, outfits, medications, etc). It sounds like it was a good thing they supplied you a list!
It's weird you can feel the babies head! I'm not even exploring that area down there right now. Also, DH and I are not having sex because of how dilated I am. I would like the keep the babies in there for a few more days.


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## rebecca822

Fern- we will have someone come starting when they get home from the hospital, I'm starting to interview ladies.
Wow that is a long list to pack! My hospital provided almost everything, but I brought most of it anyways. 
When I was having contractions the week before the babies were born they said they felt Alisa's head when they did cervical exams. I think it means that baby is low and getting ready!

Rq I'm glad you're hanging in there. I keep checking here to see if you're still pregnant! Can't wait for the babies!! I agree just enjoy the time now being pregnant i actually miss it!


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies, sorry I have been absent for so long, I have been trying to read along with the updates I get emailed but not had time to sit down and type. December was a really busy month which was nice and my own fault as I decided to do all my baby shopping, Christmas shopping and house decorating in the same month. Plus any free time I did have I wanted to spend with DH as he has been working a lot recently. 

There is so much to catch up on but I just wanted to pop on and say Hi and that I do think about you. 

2have, I am sorry to hear how tough things have been for you, and glad you have been signed off work to get some much needed and deserved rest. 

RQ, sounds like your babies are going to come anytime soon. Good luck with whichever birth method you take, I will look forward to the announcement. 

Fern, sounds like you are on track too and well done for being so organised. Sorry to hear things are still not great with DH but you have your little boy to think about and he is going to bring you so much happiness. 

Froggy, sorry to hear about DH I hope he gets better before baby arrives. I think you are officially the next one so wishing you the best of luck.

Rebecca, so pleased to hear your two little ones are growing strong and I hope they get to come home soon so you can begin your family life together. 

I will keep you posted when anything exciting happens over here. I have 4 weeks left and I am very grateful that so far my pregnancy has been good. 

Good luck everyone, I hope everyone has a wonderful birth experience and happy and healthy babies :hugs:


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## Rq120

Still hanging in there today. I was really tired so thankfully it is Saturday and I can rest. I had some blood tinged mucous this morning so probably soon but no active contractions/labor yet. Baby watch 2017. Lol


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## froggyfrog

Good to hear from you pinkie, im glad you are doing so well, it's so crazy how close we all are! 

Fern that's a long list to pack in your bag! So cool that you felt his head! 

Rebecca I hope the next week or two fly by so that you guys can get home. 

RQ yay for one more day! I have been watching closely to see if I'm losing any plug but haven't yet.

I was really hoping for a cervix check yesterday but they told me that they will give me another next week. I have been having a TON of Braxton hicks, some with pain and cramping but nothing consistent. The midwife yesterday told me to follow the 5-1-1 rule and that since I'm term to go ahead and go in at that point! So exciting!


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## rebecca822

Rq the blood tinged mucus is a good sign. Things are immentent :) 
The twins are 1 month today!
Joe got his NG tube removed yesterday since he has been taking his bottles really well! Alisa is still a little behind with her eating. Both babies have been moved out of the incubators and into open bassinets. We are making great progress I really think they will be home before next weekend. I'm waiting till Monday morning to speak with their doctor (usually the residents and fellows are there over the weekend so I need to wait till Monday to see the neonatologist).

Pinkie nice to hear from you, glad that you're feeling well. 4 weeks is almost here!! Yay!


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## Rq120

The doc told me to get checked for ANY changes. I had that blood tinged mucous yesterday and some cramping today so I called to see what they wanted me to do. I was sent into triage. I was still about 4cm and everything looked good so I got to come home. The doc said i will be back soon...lol. He said "maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow but we will see you again soon". I'm not ready for labor so it was ok with me. Also my friends and I have special dinner plans tonight so we will plod along like normal. Again we are just waiting for contractions. I get checked out again Tuesday so unless contractions start I'm going to stay at home.


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca happy 1 month to your teins!

RQ how are you doing? Still hanging in there?

Pinkie I'm really glad to hear you're doing well. Has the ms gone away now?

Fern how are you doing lady, hanging in there? 

Froggy sorry to hear about the B&H. That can't be too comfortable. 

Everyone else I hope you guys are relaxing. 

Well I've not been discharged as I thought I would be. Hemoglobin has fallen which us not a good sign and same with platelettes. Protein in urine is up. They think the steroids that they gave the babies boosted my levels to look good but have concerns that I could tank tomorrow or Tuesday. As well, there are only 3 spots in this hospital's NICU left so if I wait, the consequences could be both emerg c-section as well as delivering at a busy, old inner city hospital. I think we're going to start induction this afternoon!


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## rebecca822

Oh my 2have today?! Wow!! Please keep us updated!! 
Rq I hope you enjoy your dinner plans and you make it to Tuesday!!


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## Fern81

Oh my goodness things are happening fast!!

Good luck 2have, best that they keep a close eye on you and the twins. Keep us updated if you can, I can imagine things might be a little crazy though!

Rq- good luck hun you have almost reached 37 weeks, great GA for your twins, please take it easy! Do you have to go back to work this week?

Pinkie- nice to hear from you, glad you are still doing well! Aww I can't wait to find out if you are having a girl or a boy :).

Froggy- you sound so close to delivery as well! And if not your induction is really right around the corner. How is your hubby doing?

Rebecca - your twinnies are making remarkable strides. <3 can't believe it's been a month already.

I called in to LD today... what an embarrassing situation lol... H and I had sex (we never do anymore so I was just too happy with the attention :blush: ) anyway so I went to urinate after, and fluid started leaking out (definitely not semen) and it kept going for about 10-15 minutes. After a while I got fed up with sitting there wondering what was going on and proceeded to take a shower, dress and have a meal. I kept going back to the bathroom about every 5 min (for about 2 hours) to check and every time I sat down, fluid started leaking out again. Not when I walked around though. Called LD and they said to come in straight away. They tested twice for amniotic fluid but it turned out to be just urine! Neither the nurse or the doctor could explain why it kept leaking like it did and why there was so much of it! They kept me under observation for a while and kept reassuring me that I did the right thing to call and to come in immediately if there are any other strange symptoms. We laughed about it afterwards... H mentioned that it was like an episode of "sex sent us to the ER" :dohh: ! Idk; I think maybe my bladder nerves got overstimulated or something. I did have a slight nerve injury after my last laparoscopy in March 2016. Who knows. And of course it tapered off while I was under observation - Murphy's law! :)


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## 2have4kids

Fern that's hilarious. It truly does sound like an episode from Sex Sent Me To The ER! 

The doctors haven't popped by so I'll prob only start the cervix ripening process today and get an oxy drip tomorrow. I didn't get my bikini wax in or the damned eyelashes:grr::haha:


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## rebecca822

Fern don't feel so bad! My sil had that and she ended up going into labor later that night. At least you got some action :)

2have o feel like things don't usually happen over the weekend in hospitals. Keep us updated! Good luck tomorrow!!!


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## Fern81

Haha 2have when I went in yesterday, I was also concerned with my salon appointments that are only booked for next week! I reeeeally don't want to miss them. Well maybe once your babies are born you can still do those treatments? (The eyelashes at least, maybe not the wax? :) ) all the best with your induction hun!!! You and your girls are in my thoughts and prayers. 

H is back at work as of today so I'm hoping we don't get on each other's nerves so much. He has been more decent this week, his mom told me that they also gave him a stern talking-to when they heard that he had just left me here for a drinking holiday. (Actually they never say much to their sons when they behave like hooligans so I don't know if I believe her though!) Oh well. If we can manage just to be decent and well mannered toward each other it will be a huge improvement. 

I'm interviewing domestic workers/nannies. It's making me extremely anxious but I need the help!


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## rebecca822

Fern glad H is behaving for now. Glad your in laws are taking your side. Good luck with the interviews.

2have waiting for your update, good luck hon!!


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## Rq120

Claire and Oliver made their world debut this morning. I had to pee and got out of bed at 12:45am. I felt some fluid getting ready to come out. I flopped out of bed so quickly and water gushed down my legs. I told DH my water just broke. I peed, and took a very quick rinse in the shower and we were on our way. Contractions started on the way to the hospital and I got an epidural within 2 hours. My contractions were within 2 mins very quickly. They got the epidural in just in time because when I was getting it I got a contraction and I could feel my body wanted to push. They checked me and we were ready to go. Water broke at 12:45am and the first baby was born around 4:30am. 
I'll post more pics and details later, but I wanted to let you know they came and are doing great!

2Have - I'll say a prayer for your induction and little ones! Best wishes!!!


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## froggyfrog

Congrats rq!! They came pretty fast!!! I can't wait to see pics!

Good luck with your induction 2have, keep us updated!


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## Fern81

Wow rq so glad it all went well & a fast birth! Whoop whoop congrats momma!!


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## 2have4kids

Congrats RQ, sounds like it was quick and efficient! Glad to hear you had all of the pain management that you needed on time - that's the most important thing as well as healthy babies <3

They're 'ripening the banana' right now with cervidil. My hemoglobin & platelettes fell more and they said if the induction process takes days they may need to give me a blood transfusion. I was dilated 1 cm but not super effaced of thin so hopefully the cervidil does the trick!

How is everyone else, Fern, Froggy, Pinkie are you singleton mamas feeling any closer?


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## elliecain

Congratulations RQ! That's so exciting, what a super fast labour! How are you and the babies?

I love that this thread is on labour watch now :) Good luck, everyone. I'll be there in a couple more months...


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## Pinkie3

Oh my 2have and RQ, how exciting.

RQ, many congratulations to you and DH, sounds like a wonderful labour. I hope you and both babies are doing well. 

2have, I am thinking of you and I hope things get moving soon. If you're allowed, try some squatting/walking up and down the stairs sideways, a little tip my midwife gave me to get those babies to open up the cervix. 

Mine is still not engaged, will be checked tomorrow and in the meantime doing a lot of movements on all fours. 

X


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## rebecca822

Huge congrats RQ!!! How are the babies?!

Praying for you 2have, hope it goes smoothly!


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## Fern81

Ellie yours will be here too before you know it, 30+ weeks already! 

Froggy- and only a week left for you. 

2have - hope you are doing well and that you are in wayyyy less pain with this labour. 

Rq- thinking of you and the twins!!

Praying - I've also been doing heaps of positioning exercises and thought he was really low down... and then on Sunday when I went in to LD I heard that nope, he is just starting to engage!! I'll be thinking of you when I do my squats etc :).

This anxiety is getting to be a problem? Idk if it's normal or a side effect of the anti-depressants (I've doubled my dose for a week now but it just means that I'm taking half a tablet instead of a quarter tablet.... am very cautious with the stuff). Will definitely be asking my dr tomorrow.


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## rebecca822

Anxiously awaiting updates from you ladies :)


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## froggyfrog

Hope all is well 2have and the babies are here or will be here soon!

I lost my plug today! I know it doesn't necessarily mean anything but it's still very exciting. Like the beginning of the end!


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## rebecca822

Yay froggy!! It can be any day now!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy it will be soon!

They gave me gravel & morphine last night and I slept. Was barfing any water I drank in the morning thanks to the cervidil uterine hormone but was I favourable for oxytocin (3cm, soft & effaced) and they wanted to get things going and break water. I told them no, I was dehydrated, exhausted and needed a sleep. So I slept, had breaky and a shower and am awaiting them to come up & start the process. They're in a C-section right now. Long process this!

Fern, I'm sorry you're having stress/anxiety. It doesn't get better nearing delivery. Just trust that you can do this, because you can. Sending you :hugs::hug:


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## Rq120

2have - best wishes. I hope everything goes well!

The babies are doing great! Claire needed to spend a little time (1hr) in the warmer, but other than that no interventions needed. I'm going great. Not much sleep as you can imagine. I'll post more soon, after we get home and get settled.
 



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## Rq120

P.S. I did get my vb
 



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## rebecca822

Rq that picture just melted my heart! Claire looks a bit bigger than Oliver. What was their birth weights?
Glad you got your VB it's such a (relatively) easy recovery! 

2have lots of luck sorry it's such a long process


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## 2have4kids

RQ they're gorgeous! A good size and looking healthy, well done mama!


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## Fern81

Well done and congrats rq! They are so precious and perfect! Glad they're doing so well!! Hope you have a smooth recovery and that you manage to get some sleep before you take them home ;).

Oi 2have I feel bad for you with this drawn out process :( hang in there. It can't be easy. At least you are under the good care of your doctor and medical staff. I hope your babies arrive today & that your body can begin to heal. Lots & lots of hugs!!

Froggy that is so exciting. Maybe you even go in to labour before your induction date!

Pinkie, you also have an appointment this week if I remember correctly? 

Today is my last scheduled doctor's visit for this pregnancy, feels surreal! I'll ask about the increased anxiety. Most of it is due to the impending delivery and having a newborn, but I'm really wondering if there could be an external chemical aspect. Today I'm only drinking half a teaspoon of coffee instead of a full one, also only taking a quarter of an anti-depressant tablet instead of half a tablet, to see if it makes a difference. :)


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## Fern81

Ok so I'm 2cm dilated at 36+5 (which I know means nothing ito timing but at least my body is prepping!) And baby is definitely starting to move more into my pelvis but atm he is lying with his face to the front& to my left side which is not ideal. He measures 3,2 kg already! Induction date tentatively set for 31 jan. I hope to go into labour on my own before then but now I heard that my dr will be on holiday for a week at the end of January :/. Well there will be other doctors but since I'm doing it on my own I was hoping that there would be one familiar face! Oh well as long as my lovely baby is safe and sound :).


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## rebecca822

Fern that's great that your body is starting to make some progress! I hope you give birth before your Dr leaves. H will not be invited to the birth?
It will be wonderful for you to have your little man to snuggle once he's born.

Update: baby Joe will be discharged on Friday!! Alisa is not eating well enough by mouth to go home yet. Possible in another 1-2 weeks she will be ready.


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, 5 hours after they broke my water and hooked me up to an oxytocin drip I gave birth to Miss Teagan Cora and 17 minutes later her sister Piper Brenna appeared breach. They both weighed 4 pounds 14 oz and were doing very well. They're going to be in the NICU for 1-2 more weeks until they learn how to feed well. My ob was fabulous, despite the breach birth I didn't have a scratch on me. Any bruising on Piper's leg went away today and thank goodness for the top up on the epidural as it kicked in right before he tried to position baby #2 for delivery. The horrified look on my sister's face told me I wouldn't want to feel any part of that!
 



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## elliecain

Congratulations 2have, they are beautiful! I'm so glad it went well and I'm impressed you v-birthed twins, especially one breech. Our bodies are incredible, aren't they?! Great sizes too :)

Well done all you twin mamas, what awesome jobs you all did!

Now on to our singletons... who's next? Fern? Froggy?


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## Fern81

Wow 2have! Congrats, they are beautiful and I love their names!! We sure make gorgeous babies on this thread!! :) how did your dh react when he found out it's another 2 girls? :) MacKinley looks astonished lol she is going to be such a cute older sister! 

Rebecca that is great news. Before you know it you will have both home and your hands FULL! 

I have been feeling a bit nauseous with bad back pain since last night, hope it's my baby moving down & my body getting more ready for labour! The first trial run nanny/cleaning lady has started this morning, we'll see how she works. Hope she is neat, works fast and hygenically and understands my instructions. Then I don't have to search any further! ;) I have to teach today and tomorrow and am not looking forward lol... love my students but I'm in pain and, quite frankly, LAZY!!


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## Pinkie3

2have, fab news, congratulations on your beautiful girls, sounds like you done an amazing job, well done. I hope they both do well and you get to take them home soon. Get some rest X 

RQ, gorgeous babies. 

Froggy, any day now, good luck.

Fern, I hope you are feeling better? Sounds like you are well on your way too and hopefully not much longer for you. 

Rebecca, glad your babies are doing well and hope Alisa she comes home not long after Joe. 

Had my appointment, we now think baby has gone from transverse to breech. Have a scan next week to see what is going on. Most importantly both baby and I are still doing really well X


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## rebecca822

Congrats 2have! Your girls look wonderful and healthy! They weigh the same as my kiddos. We are at 4lb 12oz for each twin.
I'm so glad your delivery went well. McKinley looks so cute peeking at her two sisters! Was DH surprised when he found out the genders? 
Rest up and feel good!

Pinkie I'm sorry baby is breech. I'm hoping baby decides to move! 

Fern, good luck Nanny hunting!


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## 2have4kids

Fern I hope you feel better soon, nausea isn't fun when you're this far along and the sore back will hopefully go away when your bump has turned into baby. Not long now, especially if you're already dilating! Will they do a sweep for you do you thunk to get things going?

Ellie how are you feeling then? 

Froggy are you & DH ready? How's he doing?

RQ how do you feel now, are you ok after your birth then?

Pinkie, have you read the spinning babies website? There are different things you can try to still get your baby head down. Wishing you good luck! 

I'm finally being discharged frim hospital today so we'll just be checking in regularly on our little girls in the NICU. They're off their feeding tubes and onto bottles yesterday evening. Rebecca are they holding yours much longer? You must be very ready to take them home by now! Mine just look so fragile, I'm scared to break them! I'm glad they're holding them a few more weeks. They need to plump up a little!


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## rebecca822

2have4kids said:


> Rebecca are they holding yours much longer? You must be very ready to take them home by now! Mine just look so fragile, I'm scared to break them! I'm glad they're holding them a few more weeks. They need to plump up a little!

Joe will be sent home tomorrow and Alisa needs some more time to get her eating figured out. Don't worry 2have they're not as fragile as they look!


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## froggyfrog

Aww congrats 2have!! Love their names! Teagan is on our girl list as well!!! Those pics are great of big sister meeting her little sisters!

Rebecca I hope that Alisa turns around quick so that you have your whole family home together, how are they doing with nursing, or are you just pumping now? 

Fern I'm sorry your feeling bad, I'm not feeling great lately either. It's definitely getting time for our boys to make an appearance! Fx you have found a good housekeeper!

Ellie these next 9 weeks will fly by! Everyone says it slows down at the end, but for me it has flown!

RQ how are the babies and new mommy doing? 

Pinkie I have heard of the spinning babies that 2have mentioned and supposedly it's awesome to get the babies into position.

AFM nothing really new, I will get checked tomorrow for dilation, I'm really looking forward to it! Dh is still in a lot of pain, he is no weight bearing for three more weeks. It's been really hard on me because I'm trying to get the house cleaned and last minute errands run by myself. Some of the chores are getting really hard for me to do and we don't have the room in our budget to hire someone right now like I wanted. But on the bright side maybe all of these chores will get labor going for me and an induction won't be necessary. My mom will be here next Tuesday morning so at least at that point I will have some help.


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## froggyfrog

Here is possibly my last bump pic!


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## elliecain

Beautiful bump Froggy! I love how preggos look towards the end, so amazing!

I'm feeling exhausted at the moment. Constant indigestion and nausea that comes and goes. I'm hoping it doesn't go on too long. I took a couple of days off work because I was all vomity and so tired. Midwife said I had quite high levels of ketones in my urine so I've been trying to eat and drink plenty, though it's hard when you feel full all the time.

We had our first antenatal class last night and we both really enjoyed it. I love how my DH is getting more and more excited and involved now. I think the size of my bump is making it all more real to him!


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## Fern81

Froggy we keep on being bump twins XD mine looks just like yours! And may I saw we are gaawwjus ;). Aahh shame I can imagine it's hard to do everything by yourself. Hope you get a chance to rest a day or so before your induction and labour. Can't wait until it's our turn!

The nanny/cleaner today was OK, she will come in next Thursday again and we'll see. Teaching today was also not too bad, all the students I have atm are really lovely. And I'm not complaining too much about the pain etc because it gives me hope that things are happening! Only 19 more sleeps AT MOST in any case! I'm thinking I MIGHT opt for a cs if he remains back-to-back... oi. We'll see. 

Pinkie- I hope your baby turns!! Keep us updated! I'm also doing spinningbaby and he's head down but posterior/ROT :/ oh well we can only control so much! One way or another they will be born!


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## Fern81

Oh no ellie, yep I'm also not a fan of this 3rd tri! Hope your issues clear up. I've found that eating soup helps if I have no appetite or it feels like I have no space in my tummy. It's more easily disgested too. So glad you and your dh are bonding over this process and classes. :)


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## rebecca822

Lovely bump froggy it's nice and round!
God luck tomorrow I hope there's good news!

Elie sorry that you're feeling unwell. I got that towards the end too (of course it ended rather abruptly with giving birth :) 

Fern I am pumping 6 times a day (every 4 hours) and I put them to breast once a day. It's nice because the nurses help me out with positioning.


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## rebecca822

Baby Joe on his way home. Alisa will be going home on Sunday.
 



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## Fern81

Ah great that he's already strong enough Rebecca. He's so tiny! Hope Alisa can join him soon. X


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## nimbec

Oh my goodness ladies congratulations to you all!!!! Beautiful babies and lovely names :) I am here reading but been very busy with work and house hunting - long story but pressure is off now for another 6 months at one point we thought we had to move the same time as I am due &#128580;&#128551;! 

I am feeling very tired now, got low BP and blood sugars and low iron so on meds for the iron - was hoping I'd feel like a. Ew woman but sadly not lol!! 

Got another scan next Thursday and consultant app where they may give me an indication on section date...exciting times! 

Sorry I'm not posting regularly im working full pelt and shattered. 

Hugs to you all and the lovely bundles of joy! X


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## Rq120

Hi everyone. Babies and momma are doing great! Physical recovery for me was easy and I feel very good. However, the baby blues hit me hard and I was having panic attacks for a few days. I couldn't eat or sleep but thankfully bonded with my wonderful miracles right away. The anxiety/depression has gotten 100% better today (thank god).

I've been reading everyone's posts. Sorry I haven't been posting much. For first time parents, the transition is HARD for us! Thankfully we have SIL here who is a god send. She watches the babies so we can nap and did a bunch of housework today. Going though all of the first time parent emotions - overwhelmed, blessed, so in love, scared, etc.

2have - congrats of your beautiful babes! Our Oliver was 4lbs 14oz. He is just taking the bottle right now (doesn't latch very well) but he is eating so we will take it!

Rebecca - so glad baby girl got to go home and baby boy is soon to follow. How exciting. You are such a strong mama for surviving the NICU!!

Everyone else so excited that it is getting closer to time! I can't wait to see the updates.


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## Rq120

Here are a few pics. 2am smiles are the best!
 



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## Fern81

Nimbec I'm sorry to hear that you are still so overworked and run down. Hope the extra iron starts to make a difference soon. Hugs!!

Rebecca how are you coping at home with Joe?

Froggy- any more signs of labour? When is your induction date again?

2have - how are you and the twins?

Rq they are just absolutely gorgeous, thanks for sharing. So sorry that you had baby blues, I'm so scared of that!! But you are indeed very blessed with a helpful dh and sil. I truly don't know how single parents of multiples cope! And what a blessing that you were able to bond with them so soon despite your baby blues. I think that makes a huge difference in how well a parent copes. 

I spoke to my sis yesterday about my fears of having a newborn, being overwhelmed, not bonding, not sleeping etc. And she keeps reassuring me that while it is overwhelming in the moment, to just keep reminding yourself that it does pass, and it actually goes by so fast! Her twins and older child sleep through the night 90% of the time and everything is just so much easier now that they're past their first birthday. 

Ok so it's decided, H can be at the hospital during my labour if he wants but he will definitely not be in the delivery room when I'm in transition and pushing. If that phase is during the day, my sister will be in there to hold my hand. My husband doesn't care. I'm not going to expect her to be there in the middle of the night though so if I happen to go through the pushing stage at say 3am I'll do it alone. I have also requested no other family at the hospital until I'm ready for them. That's sorted, now just to go into labour lol!!


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## rebecca822

Rq beautiful babies! Glad you're feeling better! Rest up and enjoy motherhood!
Fern I'm happy you have made arrangements for the birth. That's one thing less to stress about.
Baby joe is sleeping in my arms. Alisa is still in the hospital she is not eating well with a bottle and they needed to put her feeding tube back in. Hopefully she won't be there too much longer.


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## froggyfrog

They are beautiful RQ!! 

Fern I'm scheduled for a cervidil Friday night! So hopefully the induction goes right and I have my baby in my arms on Saturday. Of course I'm still holding on to hope that I go naturally before then. I go to get my parents from the airport tomorrow morning, so any time after that works for me! I spent all day today deep cleaning my house so that all my mom needs to do is maintanance cleaning. I got a lot of cramping during some of my moving around. It would be nice to think that maybe I'm getting things started!


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca I'm sorry that they had to put alisas feeding tube back in, I really hope she gets to come home soon.


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## rebecca822

Ooh froggy you're so close!! I hope the induction goes really easy! It's going to be a long week for you to wait :)


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## froggyfrog

Thanks, hopefully my parents will be a nice distraction and make the time fly by. Me and my mom are getting pedis! And I'm a total daddy's girl and haven't seen him in person in two years!


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## Rq120

Froggy - so close, yay!!

Rebecca - sorry to hear about baby girl. I think in my first week haze I switched who you were taking home. How is it going with one at home and the other in the NICU?!?

Claire and Oliver had their first check up today. They are close to their birth weight and the doctor was VERY happy. They have gained 2oz since Friday! I can't get Oliver to latch but I am pumping 90% of their needs right now.


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## rebecca822

Rq it is hard to have one at home and one in nicu but thank god for family!
I would recommend using a breast nipple shield it really helps with babies latch. 
Glad your babies are gaining nicely that great! How is it caring for 2 babies? You must be exhausted!


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## Fern81

Rebecca I'm sorry to hear there was a slight setback with Alisa but at least she is getting fed & growing. A year from now she will have grown so much and you will be running around after your three kiddies! :) my sister's twins had twin-to-twin transfusion and were born at 36 weeks, the smaller one had to stay in nicu for a few weeks though due to feeding difficulties but he is the same size as his brother now and he even talks a lot more than his twin! Hugs xx I can imagine it's difficult to go through. Xx

Rq- glad to hear your babies are both doing well. How are you and your dh coping? Are you getting a bit more used to everything? 

Froggy- have a lovely last week, can't wait to hear everything about your induction and birth experience! Enjoy your pedi!! I'm getting my hair done tomorrow, wax on Thursday, pedi, foot massage & gel toenails on Friday :) (saved the best for last!). It will be awesome to get some pampering done before our sons arrive! Aaww and so glad you get to spend time with your dad :).

2have - hope you are doing well hun!

Pinkie- have you had another scan yet, has baby turned? Fx!

Hi everyone else! 

Afm- I taught a few classes last week but cancelled everything as from this week. I'm really happy that I have that option and can determine my own hours! I'm just cooking a few more freezer meals, cleaning up here & there, doing some last minute shopping and stocking the cupboards. Also spending a lot of cuddle time with my cats, going for a walk daily and sleeping in! Everything I won't be able to do for a while once baby is here. Still crampy etc but I'm really OK with that since it's hopefully my body getting ready for labour.


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## rebecca822

Fern enjoy all your pampering you deserve it!!


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## Fern81

Thanks rebecca, we all deserve some pampering for sure <3!

2have do I have your twins' DOB correct- 11 Jan? To update the front page I'm not always sure with the time difference. x


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## Rq120

We are getting newborn pics today. It's going to be a long day.

Thanks to everyone for checking up with me. The transition is hard but better everyday. DH, babies, and I are doing well. We are learning to live on their routine. 

I'm so excited that the other babies are coming soon!


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## rebecca822

Rq enjoy the newborn photos I will look to you for some ideas for when we do ours.


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## Fern81

Post some pics if you can RQ :) 

So my hair is done whoop whoop :) lots of blonde with highlights top half, bottom half dark brown. So the top hair falls over the bottom hair. And lots of layers so the dark brown peeks through. Knowing myself I'm going to have it tied up most of the time lol but the colour is really nice! Now for that wax tomorrow (again a full bikini wax, my poor waxing lady I don't know how she will reach everywhere lol! Sooo swollen :blush:) and then my nice pedi on Friday!


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## rebecca822

Fern sounds beautiful nice and glammed up for the little guy :)

2have how are the girls?

My babies are 6 weeks today! Can't believe it!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, I've been reading but waaaay too tired to post, my apologies! My fingers are crossed for you ladies still to deliver and Rebecca hopefully your little girl comes home soon. RQ how are you managing? I hope you're not getting too tired or stressed with your new responsibilities xx

We were told the girls could come home tomorrow so I did all of my doctor appointments yesterday (routine week after delivery GP & OB stuff). Thdn they called this morning and said we could pick them up today! So DH is at Walmart grtting premie diapers & I've just disinfected the stroller & bedroom bassinets and still need to do the car seats. I'm tired beyond tired from pumping every 3 hours but it's paid off as my milk has come in enough to feed both girls. My neck has been stiff & hurting and I think it's from all the bf-ing & pumping. Even though the bf-ing pillows are great and make things really comfortable, I still think it maybe from looking down so much, muscles I don't normally use. Other than the girls coming home, the other cherry on the cake is that I've lost 42+ pounds since last Tuesday and now below my pre-pregnancy weight. Although one outcome is that I feel famished all the time from bf-ing I can now eat normal carby food and not feel so ill (yeay!) 

I hope everyone is doing well, can't wait to hear about the next delivery
:bunny::dance:


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## Pinkie3

RQ, I hope the newborn pictures went well today. 

Rebecca, gosh I can't believe your little ones are 6 weeks already. I hope Alisa is doing well and she can come home real soon.

Fern, your hair sounds lovely, nothing like a fresh hair do to make you feel better about yourself. I had mine done the other day, I left it as close to DD as possible and feel like a new women. Enjoy the pampering.

2have, such wonderful news that your girls can come home, they are doing so well. And check you out losing all the weight, it goes to show how much extra you carry with pregnancy. Sorry to hear you're tired but I suppose that's a given and hope things get a little easier once girls are home and you are in a routine.

I had my presentation scan and it's confirmed that baby is breech. I have a consultant appointment on Monday to discuss our options. I am not worrying, after everything I have been through to get here, I am not going to fall at the last hurdle. I am just excited that we will finally get to meet our baby in a few weeks, one way or another X


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## rebecca822

Amazing 2have I'm so glad they came home!! Good luck with caring for them! Pumping is exhausting but well worth it :)

Pinkie I hope your consult goes well and you get to deliver vaginally


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## Rq120

2have - yay for bringing the babies home! I have been pumping every 3 hours also. It's tiring. Last night was a great night with the babies. They slept without any crying and waking up only to feed about every 2.5-3 hrs. It was nice that they slept solid from feeding to feeding. DH gets up with me every time. He gets the bottles ready while I hook up the pump. Then we each feed a baby. Then he changes diapers while I finish pumping and we put them to sleep again. We were staying up with them for some one on one time during the night but we read we should put them right back to bed at night to help them learn days and nights. It worked last night. 

Fern - your hair sounds lovely. Have fun getting pampered before the baby comes. I do my own gel nails and I have had my nails painted for 4 years straight. That was until babies...lol. I wonder when they will get painted again. 

Pinkie - good luck with your consult. 

Thanks for everyone for checking up on me. We are all doing well. My depression is almost all gone. Just get a tiny bit blue at night but very manageable and going away. I just pray for a good night every night. Lol


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## Fern81

Froggy- induction day tomorrow eeekkk! I'm so excited for you! 

Rq- great that you have them on the same schedule already. Your dh sounds like a champ!! So glad that you're feeling better. Just take it day by day & remember we are all here if you ever need to vent a bit.

Pinkie- great attitude! I read what one lady wrote somewhere on a birth forum or such; doesn't matter in the long run if we don't all get the birth experience that we picture, if baby and mom are both healthy it's a massive bonus, and it's impossible to be pregnant forever. So your baby will get here one way or another, and soon you'll be a mommy! It's awesome that you are so accepting of the cards that are dealt to you. 

I'm also feeling ok with my baby being back-to-back, I haven't been successful in "spinning" him thus far. If I can't do a vb so be it, birth is only one second in a lifetime of motherhood. And thank heavens for epidurals hehe we could have lived 100 years ago...

2have - great that you are already taking the girls home! Good luck :).


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## Fern81

Oh yeah and happy 6 weeks Rebecca, can't believe it's been that long already! How is little Alisa doing, and is Joe coping well at home?


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca where in the world has the time gone! 

2have hopefully you are getting to enjoy your girls at home!

RQ so happy that your depression seems to be making a turn. Sounds like you guys have a pretty good schedule down.

Pinkie, although I'm holding out hope that you will get the birth you want, it's awesome you are so open minded!! Turn baby turn!!

Fern it's almost time for your guy to make his arrival, how are you feeling?

Tomorrow night is cervidil night! I have an OB appointment tomorrow that I'm sure isn't necessary but I'm going anyway so that I can see if I'm dilated at all. I may ask them to strip my membranes too.


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## Fern81

Froggy I'm starting to get more excited and less scared. I've done basically everything to get the house and nursery ready, even the nanny/cleaner is working out well so far. All my salon appointments are done ;) (I'm sporting gorgeous, super girly shimmery pink gel toenails with silver butterfly nail art lol!) And I'm resting a lot. I think being as prepared as possible is helping the anxiety. I even had a dream that I gave birth to him on the lawn outside the hospital because they couldn't help me haha, it wasn't a scary dream in fact it was nice & I didn't want to wake up!

Oohh hun I'm just so excited for you. Have you been having any pains/labour symptoms? Hope the birth is fast and uncomplicated. Stalking for your updates!


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## rebecca822

6 week postpartum OB visit today! 

Eek froggy I'm waiting anxiously for your update!! Can't wait for Gage's imminent arrival!

Fern it's great that you've been distracted with all of your primping and finalizing the nursery. I hope LO arrives soon!!


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## Fern81

Froggy I hope everything is going really well xx


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## froggyfrog

I still haven't gone in, they don't have any open beds. I called them this morning and told them that I was being monitored twice a week by my mfm but didn't get monitored yesterday because my mfm thought I was going to be induced and that they would be monitoring me. So I guess I'm going to head up there soon to get my nst done. Gage is moving fine, but he actually failed his nst on Tuesday and had to have an ultrasound to check his cord blood flow because he wasn't accelerating as high as they wanted him to. He did pass the ultrasound though, so I was aloud to leave, but it scared the crap out of me, and I don't want to go too long in between tests.


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## Fern81

Ugh no Froggy I'm so sorry to hear that you are under such unnecessary stress now :/ I hope a bed opens up soon and/or that they can make a plan to accommodate you!!!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy all the best with the induction. I hope a bed opens up quickly for you and that you react well to the cervidil!

Fern, I wish I could have had another week to get all of my appointments done. I went in there as a hairy beast as Imissed my wax appt by a weekend!:haha: I also cancelled my hair cut appointment as I just didn't have enough time to do it while running back and forth with the NICU. 

Pinkie the birth will be fast however you have to do it and the most important thing is you & baby are healthy. You will do great lady! 

RQ it sounds like your DH is a superstar. We're doing the same thing. The NICU got us on a great schedule with them and we're managing well. The girls sleep between 2.5-3 hours before feeds and when 1wakes up we get the other up to complete the task very quickly. DD has been sleeping better now that I'm home from hospital and she's taking small steps everyday to aquiaint herself with her new siblings.

Tonight we're off to the Best of the Banff Film Festival. It's a synopsis of a weekend event that happens in Banff Rocky mountains of films that highlight all of the sports we love to do. Kayaking, climbing, hiking, skiing, and they sometimes put extreme sports in there like cliff jumping / gliding. My mom and our godmother for the girls are coming over to babysit. I don't feel comfortable leaving all 3 with just 1 person. It's overwhelming for me let alone someone who's not familiar with the situation. 

I lost another 10 pounds last week putting me at a total loss of over 50 pounds in 1.5 weeks and now 10 under my start weight. I feel great! Told DH we should do twins again or at least take a vacation somewhere where I can wear a bikini! :haha:
Now to keep it off through the next hungry half to year of bf-ing!!


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## rebecca822

Froggy so sorry to hear that they haven't checked you in yet!! Keep us updated.

2have that's great that the girls are on a good schedule. It's the one benefit of the Nicu! Awesome on the weight loss! I've got 8 pounds left to reach my prepregnancy weight but I'm not stressing because I look great. I think the weight is all in my massive breasts!! Lol


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## froggyfrog

I'm finally in the hospital! Dilated 1 cm 80% effaced. They placed a cervidil at 6 am so 6 pm tonight they will remove it and start pitocen at 7


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## Fern81

Froggy that's great news! I hope it's a nice, manageable labour! I'll be stalking for updates xx.

2have - great news re the twins being on a schedule, your weight loss and MacKinley being able to integrate with her sisters. Sounds like it's all going well! 

Rebecca - feeling good with the way you look matters way more than what the scale says imo, good for you hot momma :).

Can't wait for my appointment tomorrow, maybe I get an induction or section lol. Either way I'll know more about how baby is growing and how I'm dilating etc. Hope his growth has slowed down and that he's turned around; then I'll very happily wait another week for my induction!


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## froggyfrog

Quick update

Cervidil didn't work, still 1 cm 90% effaced. They are thinking about giving me cytotec and then starting pitocen in the morning


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## rebecca822

Aww froggy so sorry!! All that and you got nowhere!! hugs, I hope pitocin works well and easily. Will they let you leave to go for a walk? A really long walk may help..


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## froggyfrog

They decided not to give cytotec but put in another cervidil. I'm not allowed to walk around with the cervidil. I'm having contractions too close together and the cytotec could cause a stressful situation for Gage because if could make my contractions even closer together


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## rebecca822

Wow froggy! So you're having consistent contractions but not dilating? Hope it goes quick!! Keep us posted.


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## 2have4kids

All the best Froggy xx


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## Fern81

Oi Froggy!! Seems like nothing is 100% certain with an induction. At least you are at the hospital, being closely monitored, everyone there is caring for you and for Gage, and if really needed they can always do a section. Regardless, you are in good hands and your son will be born soon! Xx


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## Fern81

Froggy I hope everything is going smoothly! 

Ok ladies exciting news :) I'm going to hospital tonight at 10 to get an induction, baby *should* be born tomorrow! At today's appointment I was already 4cm dilated so I have indeed been in slow pre-labour or whatever for the past week. (Had lots of cramps!). Baby's cord is around his neck though and the blood flow ultrasounds show that he is distressed. So I'm not going to wait to go into labour say at 1am on a random morning and then my dr, pediatrician etc are fast asleep and might take an hour to get to me... now that we know there is a medical issue and my body has already started to labour, we've made the decision. He is lying in a combination of back-to-back and transverse... but I'm first going to attempt VB. However if he gets any more stressed I have no problem getting a c-section and having my miracle born alive. It's 6 pm in RSA now, I'm going to hospital at 10 pm :).


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## rebecca822

Wow fern! Lots of luck!! Keep us updated!

This is all so exciting!!


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## elliecain

Good luck Fern and Froggy, so exciting!!!


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## Fern81

Thanks for all your amazing support ladies!


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## Pinkie3

Fern, Froggy, how exciting. Good luck and thinking of you both. Your little boys will be in your arms in no time. Will be checking the thread for your updates X


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## Fern81

So it's 4:40 am. I got a sleeping pill at 11 and was then woken up at 2 to get the gel placed. Not too sure what the name of the gel is? But it's an induction aid. So due to me already being 4cm I only got half a dose. Contractions started up soon and are now about 7min apart lasting 1,5min. Ouch. They left me to "sleep" but yeah fat chance! Ooohhh there's another one.... 

And a baby was born just now in the room next to me :)

In a few hours I think things will be crazy. I'm getting an epidural and my doctor, pediatrician, my sister & H are coming for the birth. Hoping it all goes fast!


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## rebecca822

Fern I hope things start to happen really quick for you! Can't wait for your update.

Froggy... how you doing?!


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## 2have4kids

Oh wow ladies, Fern & Froggy I'm sure by now you're both mothers. I'm so excited for your updates. You both have such positive attitudes. I hope all goes smoothly xx


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## froggyfrog

Cervidil that was placed last night was placed wrongly so did nothing to my cervix when it was checked this morning. They started me on cytotec this morning and gave me a second dose around four pm. They checked me at 7 and I had gone from 1cm to 1.5cm. So they placed a cooks catheter and started me on pitocen. The cooks catheter is set to fall out at 4cm. After having intense contractions for a few hours, the catheter fell out, and pitocen was increased. I'm going to be checked again in about 20 minutes, so hoping for some progress. Since it was not a real dilation there is a small possibility that it closes back, but I'm not going to let that worry me yet. We are only a few hours away from being in the hospital for 48 hours.


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## Fern81

Ugh Froggy what a painful wait! Are you taking anything for pain? Hope you keep progressing. 

Afm- sooo the gel didn't help me dilate. I started contractions at 2 am after the first gel and they increased slightly in intensity at 6am after the second gel was placed but at 7:30 when my dr came to do an internal exam I was still only at 4cm. After that exam my pain reeeaaalllyyy ramped up. She wanted to break my water there and then but I refused; too much pain! So they phoned the anestetist. For the next 30 minutes I was rocking on my heals and sitting on the ball, then got a walking epidural (most awesome freaking thing ever), had my water broken and cervix manually stretched and am now on a pitocin drip. Finally some peace and quiet, just chilling atm.


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## rebecca822

Wow not such easy inductions for both of you. Ughhh!


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## 2have4kids

Oh froggy, cirvidil was placed incorrectly??? And Fern. Stretched manually. Owwch! I'm sorry there have been so many bumps ladies. Fx for transition & delivery to be more smooth!


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## Fern81

He's here and it was amazing! Best birth experience I could ask for! Vb, went so quickly after they started pitocin, pushed for 10min. No pain. Full story later on.


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## rebecca822

Whoa fern!!! Congrats momma!!


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## elliecain

Congratulations Fern! I'm glad it worked in the end. Manual cervix stretching sounds awful... Looking forward to hearing your birth story.

Froggy, thinking of you. It sounds really hard. I hope things click into place soon.


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## 2have4kids

Fern congrat mama!! So glad to hear it was awesome! 
Xx


Froggy, you're turn. We're very muchooking forward to hearing how you & baby are doing!


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## froggyfrog

Oh congrats fern!!!! I can't wait to see pics!!!

When they checked me this morning I was a five, she broke my water and increased my pit, and wowza those contractions hurt. So I went ahead and asked for the epidural, and it was amazing! I just got checked again and I'm now a seven. We are getting there just slowly. He is dropping now too because he was pretty high up still.


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## Pinkie3

Fern, so happy everything went well, congratulations mamma X

Froggy, you are doing great and getting there, sounds like it won't be much longer X


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## rebecca822

Wow froggy! It's crazy! Hope it takes quick to get to 10!


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## froggyfrog

Heading in for a section. I'm not progressing any more, baby boy seems like he isn't moving down and my cervix is really swollen. Also, we had a situation earlier, my epidural completely fell out. So they had to completely give me a new one. I woke up from a nap with contractions


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## rebecca822

Awww froggy in so sorry! Wait a pain after all that! But at least the end result will be a healthy baby and happy momma!


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## froggyfrog

Heading in for a section. I'm not progressing any more, baby boy seems like he isn't moving down and my cervix is really swollen. Also, we had a situation earlier, my epidural completely fell out. So they had to completely give me a new one. I woke up from a nap with contractions


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## Fern81

Aww Froggy, I'm so sorry to hear that you had such a lot of pain and issues. Gage will make it all worth it though and you are going to be a great mommy! Much hugs and love hun!!

Afm- feel fine, very tired, no sleep but otherwise all good. Bf is going well and I'm not too sore (episiotomy and vaginal tear but I'm OK). Baby G weighs 7,7 lb; nice strong baby. Soooo in love!


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## rebecca822

Awesome job fern! Can't wait to see pictures of the little guy! Amazingly enough my babies are still 2 full pounds smaller!


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## 2have4kids

Good luck with the section Froggy. You did all you could for a v birth, good on you lady. Hang in there, Gage will be in your arms soon!

Fern, I can't wait to see your little guy. 7 pounds 7oz is a perfect weight, well done! Has your OH seen/met him yet?

The girls have their 1st GP appt tomorrow. I'm interested to see how much weight they've each out on. Their skinny little bums are filling out nicely=D>


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## froggyfrog

Gage was born via c section on Jan 24th at 11:12 pm. He weighed 9lb 1oz and is 21 2/3 inches! He latched immediately! Will update properly later!


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## rebecca822

Froggy he is beautiful!!! I'm so sorry for what you went through but glad gage arrived safely! 9 pounds, wow! 
Congrats, enjoy your little man and rest up!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy what a handsome little man. Good work mama!


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## elliecain

Beautiful! Congratulations to both our new mummies xxx


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## Fern81

Congrats Froggy on your gorgeous healthy boy!! How cool that our sons share a birthday <3. Hope you are recovering well after your ordeal hun.

Ellie- and now we get to wait for yours :) hope you have a lovely last few weeks x


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## Pinkie3

Froggy, congratulations on the birth of Gage, he looks gorgeous. I hope you recover well x


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## Fern81

Afm- phew so tired. Baby is rooming in tonight and I hope we both get some sleep. Yep, H was at the hospital for the birth, he just wasn't present when I pushed baby out, birthed the placenta and got stiched up. As planned, my sister was there for that part. He came back in after I was done & was cleaned up properly. I'm VERY glad he wasn't there and didn't see that bloody mess!! And that my sister was there instead. She was fab. I felt comfortable asking her to hold a mirror for me so I could see his head, for doctor to show me the placenta and the amniotic bag etc, and I wasn't inhibited to push or scared that I might poop in front of my sister. I definitely would have felt very uncomfortable and inhibited doing all of that in front of him. Anyway as it turns out he DOTES on our son and is amazing with him so far!! He took to being a dad right away. So far, so good. I'll type out the whole birth story when I get a chance. X


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## nimbec

Wow ladies so much has happened!! 

Congratulations Fern & Froggy &#128515;&#128515; how amazing too that they share a birthday! 

Hope you are both feeling ok, no doubt shattered. Fern I'm so pleased H is smitten what a relief you must feel - long may it continue!! 

Froggy gosh a big strong boy no wonder it was hard to progress hope you are ok after your section I remember it well from 4 years ago - hang in there The pain goes quicker than you would imagine. 

Hope everyone else and their beautiful bundles are doing well! 

Sorry I'm not on much trying to get things organised this end. 

So who's next?! 

I have been told I have to have a section which I'm ok with actually as I have a few complications such as pacemaker and a fractured spine so the risk is too high for a normal delivery. I'm struggling with low blood pressure, sugars and iron at the moment so feeling shattered. I went to my midwife appt today and she said she didn't think it would be long they won't leave me till 39wks for my sectionnif I'm not well &#128584;I really want to hang out as long as possible having had Harrison prematurely I'd really really like to hold him straight away and have a more normal experience if possible BUT my biggest wish is for a healthy baby anything else I'll go with! So I will get my date hopefully next week - I'll keep you posted!


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so glad that H is doing well as a dad, that just be comforting to you.

Pinkie, Ellie and Nimbec, can't wait for you gals to have your babies!

I'm sorry about your C section Ninbec, I know it's not an easy recovery but you'll get the same end result :)


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## ES89

Hi everyone sorry I've not been online for so long! I've missed loads! Congratulations to all the new mummies, hope your enjoying motherhood &#128155; 
I'm currently at home in hybernation as my doctor suspects I may mumps &#128532; Get my blood test result back tomorrow. Other than that I'm well and baby is doing great x


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## Fern81

Good to hear from you ES, ugh sorry that you have mumps!! Are you team yellow or have you found out what your baby's sex is? :)

Nimbec- not too long now hun. Please let us know when your section date is. 

Pinkie- have you discussed your birth options with your dr yet? Keep us updated, your birth is coming up soon, so exciting! Can't wait to hear what you are having! I'm thinking girl for some reason ;). 

All the new mommies I hope you are doing OK! Froggy how are you recovering? 

Well I still haven't had time to type out my birth story. It's been so busy. I just made some voice notes to try and remember the important details. When we arrived home from the hospital on Thursday, our geyser had burst and the ceiling had fallen in in the kitchen!! What a disaster. So I had to unpack and inbetween we tried to clean the kitchen. Yesterday I packed all my bags again & went to my parents while the plumbers were here to replace the geyser. While at my parents, a million family members came to visit. Packed up and came back home last night, only got to sleep around 3am because H was snoring so much and the cats were crying outside my door all night lol. Today my in-laws are here and mil can't leave my son alone & he can't sleep! So I've taken him now after a few hours to feed him and escape all the attention. Shame he is so overstimulated.


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## Fern81

How are all our pregnant mommies doing? I can't wait for you all to have your babies! It is the best adventure imaginable.


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## Fern81

Baby G, 5 days old today!
 



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## nimbec

ES sorry to hear you are not well &#129298; please rest and look after yourself!! 

Fern I'm so sorry you had all that to come home too what a nightmare :( he is gorgeous!!! Lovely pics. Please don't worry about him being overstimulated it won't last forever and you will get into a nice calm routine after the initial excitement of his arrival. 

How is everyone doing? 

I will hopefully get a section date at my consultant app next week - I saw midwiffe this week and she said head down ready to go could be anytime! &#128562; I am trying to hold on to 37 weeks at the earliest pref 38...not sure I'll get that far tho - million dollar question am I having a Feb baby or a March?! I'm almost ready at home, bag is almost packed so ready for any eventuality. 

Ellie, pinkie how are the last few weeks treating you? I'm shattered!!


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## rebecca822

Fern how are things going? Is H allowed to spend time with baby?

Froggy those are gorgeous pictures of Gage. How is it with a newborn?

2have and RQ how are the twins?

Nimbec I hope you get to 38 weeks! Keep us posted when you get your date. Feel good!

Joe is doing great and Alisa is still in the hospital. She's very sleepy and is never awake long enough to take a full bottle. She was evaluated by a speech pathologist twice already and they keep saying that she's just a little immature. 
Well get there soon I hope!


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## Rq120

Hi everyone. Sorry I fell off the face of the earth for a week. Monday we took the babies to the doctor for their 2 week check up. They are doing great and both gained 6oz in a week. They were both above their birth weights. Then after the doc appointment we drove across town and got their birth certificates. Tuesday we spent 4 hours or more taking all the steps to get their passports (i.e. Pictures, in person application, etc). We are going to our best friend's wedding in Mexico in April! Crazy! After all that running DH and I were lazy slugs the rest of the week.

Congrats Fern and Froggy! I hope you are coping well and healing fast. Being a FTM is a crazy and beautiful transition. 

Rebecca - sorry to hear Alisa is still in the hospital. I hope she starts eating well soon so she can join the happy family at home!! I know I would be anxious to have my baby at home.

I haven't gotten my whole gallery of newborn pics but I did get a preview pic. I can't wait to see the rest of them.
 



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## rebecca822

Rq that pictures is awesome! Just beautiful! I'm looking to do naked pictures too, just waiting for Alisa to go home so we can schedule something!


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## elliecain

Lovely pictures girls.
I'm just mega tired now... not sleeping well, odd dreams and a huge stomach to haul around! I'm counting down to maternity leave... 4 weeks to go: 2 weeks until half term, then a week off then one handover week.

We are pretty much ready now. I need to wash everything, but it's all in situ and looks great. It's so exciting. We've been doing lots of classes, tours etc recently and I'm feeling much more prepared and less "head in the sand" about it all. We've also met some lovely couples through our antenatal NCT classes.


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## 2have4kids

Wow, so much happening!!

Froggy & Fern I hope you're doing well after your births. Fern sorry to hear about the chaos when you got home. You prepared so well to have a relaxing calm home to return to and then bam! It goes sideways! Lets hope DH can step up and take care of the house and leave you to mother your LO. 

Ladies gorgeous pics, thank you for sharing, they're all absolutely adorable!! We do our newborn session on Saturday next week. I can't wait!

Ellie, antenatal classes are the best. Are you going to try to keep in touch with those families? We had 13 other couples in our group and we all set up a secret fb page. It's alot of fun to see all the babies progress & chat about the different phases (the dreaded 4 & 8-11 month sleep regression ugg! Get ready ladies!)

Nimbec all the best with getting the section date & getting to 38 weeks if that's what you're hoping for!

ES does mumps effect baby at all? It's quit serious isn't it? I had it when I was snall and my neck / lymph nodes blew up. I hope you feel better soon, being sick whe pregnant is the pits!

Rebecca, usually the girls progress faster than the boys in the NICU but it's reassuring to know you've got specialists keeping her under close watch. I hope you get to take her home soon!

I hope I haven't missed anyone, wishing everyone the best! We've been waaay too busy for comfort this past week 1st GP appt was wednesday. The girls have gained 7 oz since coming home fromthe NICU. They're at 5 pounds 5 oz now and eating constantly. DD had vaccinations Saturday so we scheduled the twins in at that session for March/April vaccinations. I had more blood tests to do to see if I'm gaining hemoglobin/platelettes yet. Monday the girls have audiology tests, it's standard here with NICU babies. We had friends over to see the girls Saturday abd they got SO many gifts! I've already got loads of envelopes in the mail from family fir RESP money for them but the clothes and DD got twin dolls with a miniature playpen along with some frilly dresses & accessories... Thank goodness I bought 2 packs of thank you cards before the twins came. I have work to do! 
I've lost now 15 pounds drom my pre-pregnancy weight and fit pants I haven't fit in years. It makes me seriously want to get pregnant again lol. Time off work with a year paid maternity leave, losing weight each time, more beautiful cherubs to make me smile everyday. If only we had unlimited finances, I would def keep trying for more!


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## Fern81

2have - yep how crazy is life with a newborn? I can imagine it's even busier with two. And I don't want this lovely time to fly by so fast :). 

Rebecca - sorry to hear that Alisa is still in hospital. Hope she can join you soon. 

Rq and Froggy - how are you doing?

Ellie- oohh it's so exciting to get the last things done and ready for baby. It helps to know that everything is clean and in its place for when you go home from the hospital (unless your geyser bursts and your ceiling caves in like mine did lol).

Pinkie- any news??

Afm- loving every second of being a mom. If I'd known how nice it would be I wouldn't have been so anxious before the birth. Struggling a bit with feeding. Everything is perfect; he has been able to latch great since day one, I don't have sore nipples/mastitis/engorgement BUT I have a very low supply. Trying supplements, eating plan, additional pumping etc to increase it. But atm I'm having to supplement with formula :(. Oh well he is getting fed!! Everything else is perfect. Rebecca to answer your question H is great with the baby. He's not home much because he works long hours but when he's here he feeds baby, changes his nappy, dresses him, comforts him etc. Now after the birth he is a lot more involved & interested in the baby. He even reads up on how to calm baby down, ways for me to increase my milk supply etc.


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## Rq120

Fern - so happy to hear that DH is taking to fatherhood. 

Babies had a rough night last night. They were up a lot wanting to eat. So today I felt like a walking zombie. Oh well, some nights are going to be like that. When sis-in-law got home from work DH and I went to get a pedicure together. It was nice and relaxing. My in laws are flying in from Florida to visit this weekend. It will be their first time meeting the babies!


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies,

Hope all the kiddos are doing well and the pregnant moms :)

Just wanted to report that Alisa will be coming home today! I'm so grateful to be able to have my whole family under one roof, finally. It's been a long 8 weeks and I'm happy to have a regular normal family now :)
Unfortunately I have to go back to work on Monday, I've been out for 9 weeks already, and I can't afford to take off any more time from work.


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## nimbec

Rebecca thats GREAT news!!! I'm so happy for you :) Sorry you have to go back to work...i will be in that position too sadly. How are you managing child care whilst you are working if you don't mind me asking? I'm hoping to take him in with me and work from home too. 

As for me I'm in early labour!! spent yesterday in hospital and today on bed rest seems to have slowed down and hoping to hang on at least a few more weeks! I really really want to avoid special care if i can - even though I know from Harrison they do an amazing job. 

How is everyone getting on?


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## elliecain

I hope they can stop your labour for a couple more weeks Nimbec.

Rebecca, that is great about Alisa but sucks about work. I'm starting to realise how incredibly lucky I am with my maternity leave options.

As for me, I had a routine antenatal appointment yesterday and my bump measured small, so was referred for scan today.

Finlo's growth has slowed, so I was given steroid injection and next scan in 12 days will decide. He may need to delivered then, at 36 weeks. That's not too bad, I know.
Only problem is that he's currently breech. If he doesn't turn, I'll probably need a caesarean. I'm trying to get used to this idea.

It's been a really tough 24 hours and I'm shattered, but he's still ok and I still have choices. I do worry about placenta failure though. The words we all dread to hear.


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## nimbec

Hi Ellie i'm sorry to hear he has slowed, sometimes though they can be wrong i have known people have multiple scans for slow growing and deliver early and have perfectaly average size babies. Hopefully he is just taking his time and is not planning on being a 9 pounder! Did they say his weight from the scan? Is he measuring a long way behind? Keeping all crossed for you .


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## elliecain

His estimated weight is perfect (4lb 11oz @ 34+0) but has slowed. He has only put on 11oz in 16 days and my bump is 30.5cm. 
I'm hopeful all will be fine, just a variance of sonographer.


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## nimbec

Fingers crossed all is ok! He is bigger than my boy currently so maybe he is just having a break for a few days and like you say variance in sonographer. Hopefully he will surprise you in 12 days! Little monkey is already worrying you before his arrival! Fx for you!


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## Rq120

Rebecca - how was your first night with baby girl home??

Ellie and nimbec- best of luck to both of you. I hope your babies can stay put and grow grow grow!!

Friday and Saturday have just been crazy busy with family visiting. I think we counted over 20 people who have come to visit in 2 days. I'm worn out!!


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## Fern81

Rebecca - yay that's really great!! I hope you have an absolutely blessed weekend with all your kids at home. So sorry that you have to return to work. I have to start again in 3 weeks and just want to cry when I think about it.

Nimbec- shame you've been under so much stress & exhaustion during your pregnancy. I hope you can REST now and keep that baby in a bit longer. Do you have someone taking over your work responsibilities? 

Rq- wow that sounds exhausting. I hope you can lock your doors today ;) it's nice that you have so many people in your life who all care though!

Ellie- It's totally possible that the scan was a bit inaccurate and that they are just being cautious. Ultrasound growth scans are not 100% reliable. My son measured SO LARGE on all the scans from 30 weeks +; in fact my dr had me do the 2hour glucose test based solely on his measured size. Despite a nuchal cord and him being back-to-back, I was only advised to consider a c-section due to his size. And when he was born he was not big at all in fact just 3,15kg. (His weight was initially recorded incorrectly by a nurse as 3,51kg; we only found out that it had been incorrect a day later). 
Long story short- I hope and believe all is well with Finlo's growth, too. It is however reassuring to have medical professionals looking out for us and being cautious so they can deliver our babies safely. Xx

Afm- love being a mom. My baby is definitely the love of my life and a breath of fresh air in this house. My husband was nice to both of us for a few days but quickly regressed to his old ways and I'm just staying away from him. Eg yesterday I got screamed at for "sitting at home all day doing nothing and contributing nothing" (= maternity leave). This from a man who still hasn't spent a cent on his son and hasn't helped out one single night since his son has been born etc. Since he can't breastfeed, refuses to do nappies, doesn't prepare or wash bottles etc and in general doesn't want to help out anymore, my son also doesn't spend much time with him anymore. Baby G and I have a separate bedroom on a different floor of the house so we avoid him when we can.


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## elliecain

Fern, I hate to say this, but you and baby G may need to leave this toxic man. You can't keep putting up with such unpleasant behaviour. I can't understand why he isn't filled with joy about this incredible new person on the family and doesn't want to contribute to his son's upbringing. He is truly undeserving of you and G. 
I really hope you are able to find some resolution xox


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## nimbec

Hi all, 

Rq that sounds exhausting hopefully you can get a bit of rest now :) 

Ellie keeping fx for you. 

Fern I agree I really think you should start putting things in place to leave him, these things can take time and be difficult but think about when your lil man is a bit older he will be affected by this horrid man!! You don't need him and any moneys can always be sorted even if it seems impossible at the moment. 

As for me I'm still taking it easy, things have stopped so fx we will be ok. I find it frustrating that even though I'm Meant to be resting I still have to look after the house, Harrison and cook! I have the cleaner Tuesday so that will help! 

Fern I don't have anyone who can take over my work as such but I will only be doing my essential work looking after my key accounts which is not full time. They will have to survive in the office without me a bit...I will go in for a bit everyday but park myself at my desk and keep away from any stress! 

Hugs to you all.


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## 2have4kids

Fern I'm so sorry he's still being a tyrant. Stay away from him and thunk about how you're going to stop your son from learning his dad's behaviour. If yu're fighting around a small boy it'll effect him too even at a young age.

Nimbec glad to hear things have stayed calm with you. You may have loads of things to do but prioritize & triage them. Bake little bean bake!

Ellie I hope the problem lies with the variance of the sonographer and not your little bean. Grow baby grow!

RQ visitors are exhausting but fun. I've been off work since the 5th now and we've only allowed a handful of people to come visit the house. I'm having some of my mom's girlfriends over this week and a colleague from work next week. We've got lots of mail from DH's overseas family and my extended family but I'm afraid to have someone in who will be sick or not wash their hands well. My girls still look small and fragile. 
Rebecca how has it been with Alisa at home? I hope you're enjoying both of them now!

We just got our hospital birth story photos back and they're awesome! She also did a bonus gift for us of a video. I cried, it was so neat to see the whole situation through a clear head without contraction pain:haha:
We did our newborn photo shoot on Saturday. She did a fabulous job of managing everything. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos.

DD was barfing from 9pm till 5am last night. No idea why, no diarhea or signs of flu or anything else. I was on with the local nursing line and we almost took her into Emerg. We're both shattered today. The NICU has set up a respite service for us for parents of multiples starting Wednesday till the girls are 3 months old. They have 2 volunteers for us that will come for two 3 hour stints each week. We can take DD out, cook, clean, sleep, whatever we like. I'm so incredibly grateful for our healthcare system!


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## Rq120

2have - that respite service sounds awesome!

Fern - sorry to hear about your Hubby. I'm glad you and baby are bonding!


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## Pinkie3

Hi ladies, I am sorry it's taken so long for me to update, preparing before my section was hectic and after has been just as crazy, today was the first time I had a couple of hours with just me and my baby, although I am extremely grateful for all the help I receive. I gave birth by elective c section 10 days ago to a beautiful boy, he is everything I dreamed he would be and the image of his handsome father. I am recovering well and loving every moment of motherhood. 

Good luck to the other ladies who are due soon and I am pleased to read that all babies are doing well. I hope your little miracles are bringing you lots of happiness in life xx


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## Rq120

Congrats Pinkie!

I think the new mommas are all busy with our babies right now. 

Went to the doc today for the babies one month check up. 
Claire has gained 1lb 11oz and Oliver has gained 1lb 9.5oz over birth weight. 
Claire weighs 7lb 1oz and Oliver now weighs 6lbs 7.5oz


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## rebecca822

Congrats Pinkie on your little man!

Life has been very hectic here so I haven't had time to update.

Both babies are home. Joe is 6lb 9oz and eating well. Alisa is 5lb 11oz and the doctor is concerned about her weight as she only gained 1 oz since we left the hospital last Friday. He increased her calories to 26.
(Preemie babies are given extra calories in their breast milk bottles or formula bottles, most preemies take 22calories per ounce my babies are taking 24 calories per ounce and now Alisa need some 26 calories per ounce)
Hopefully she will start gaining I'm so worried!

I'm back at work.
Oh, and I got strep throat today, I can't be near my babies for 24 hours since I just started antibiotics.


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## Fern81

Congrats Pinkie on a handsome little boy!! So happy that everything went well. 

Rebecca how are you coping with work, a toddler and preemies? And being sick now too? Wow lady I take my hat off to you. 

Had G's 2 week pediatrician visit yesterday. 16 days old and he's already gained 300g over his birth weight, I'm so happy. Was so worried about my low milk supply and whether my combo feeding strategy was working. His umbilical cord fell off yesterday and I was a bit sad to see him lose that remnant of life in the uterus lol. Also, because he is gaining well, dr said I can leave him to sleep at night and not wake him every 3-4 hours to feed (he eats much more frequently during the day in any case). So last night after his 9pm formula feeding, he slept for 6,5 hours!


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## rebecca822

Fern that's great news about baby G's weight gain! I'm so glad he's giving you a nice stretch in the night! Good job on the Breast feeding!


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## elliecain

Congratulations Pinkie!

Who else is still pregnant on here? I'm 35 weeks today :)


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## nimbec

Congratulations Pinkie! Gosh is it just me and you left Ellie? :) 

Great to see all you new mummies having a great time and getting a good routine. 

Oh no Rebecca that's horrid hope you feel better soon :( 

Fern great news! 

As for me I'm shattered and quite emotional I'm struggling now at this stage and have slowed down taken a few days off work to recharge. It's half term next week so Harrison is off school so I will be home with him although I have to say it's probably harder work entertaining a 4yr old than being in the office &#128514;. I'm looking forward to some quality time though. 

I can't sleep either currently 3.45an here and I'm awake ...lovely! No wonder I'm so tired lol! Right off to try and sleep.


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## Fern81

Ellie and nimbec enjoy your last few weeks, rest and sleep as much as you can :) (hope you get some rest in even with half term nimbec!) One more month to go. X


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## 2have4kids

Pinkie, congratulations on your beautiful boy. I'm s glad to hear birth was a positive experience for you! So far it sounds like we've all avoided nightmare deliveries:dance:

RQ those are great weights for your cherubs! Enjoy babyhood & well done with the feedings!

Rebecca hopefully she gains weight it sounds like you're feeding her successfully. How are your twins with reflux? Piper has reflux with every feed and we need to be very careful that she's upright during and after feeds. She's a high maintenance little lady already lol:haha: I'm sorry to hear about your strep throat. What crappy timing to get sick. I hope you have loads of support!

Fern despite your frustrations with low milk supply you sound like you're doing brilliantly with fattening baby G up. Well done mama!

Nimbec I hope you can get some sleep before delivery. 3rd tri has it's challenges! Especially when you still have children to care for the next morning!

Ellie you're so close now, are you getting excited?

We took the twins & MacKinley out for a walk today. It got a bit hairy getting in & put of the car but once on the road & walking everything was great. It's sunny but SO much snow here (a 35 year record in snow actually), and there was quite a cold wind but with a little beanbag warming pack in the stroller bassinet and some warm clothes on DD we all made it back alive and without frostbite :cold:


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## Rq120

Happy Valentine's Day.
 



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## nimbec

Aww Rq they are gorgeous!!


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## froggyfrog

So cute rq!

I have been following along but finding it hard to get time and energy to update! Me and Gage are doing great, he is a milk monster and always wants to nurse. He is getting so big! I'm still healing, but feeling really good. Still have three weeks left of restrictions, and I'm so ready for that to be over. 

Nimbec and Ellie, how are things going? 

Congrats pinkie!!! 

Rebecca I hope your feeling better and that Alisa is gaining what she needs.

Fern glad that baby g is thriving. So awesome that our boys share a birthday! I hope your able to figure out a solution for your issues with your husband. I'm with 2have, and think that's not a very good role model for your son to be exposed to.


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## froggyfrog




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## elliecain

The babies are all so adorable! I love seeing pictures of them... and I can't wait to meet Finlo!

I have another scan tomorrow, when I'll find out if he's picked up his growth again. I'm hopeful that he'll be back on track, around 5lb10+ If not, I may be induced soon.

Everything is ready now, the nursery looks great. We are ready, but I'd rather have a couple more weeks and get past 37 weeks. I'm 35+4 and have had the steroids, so I know it's fine...


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## Rq120

Froggy - I feel the same way. I read but too busy or tired to post much. Gage is adorable!

Ellie best of luck. Let us know how the scan goes.


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## rebecca822

Rq those pictures are the sweetest! So cute!!
Ellicain I hope LO is growing nicely and you get a few extra weeks to keep him inside. 
Froggy glad you're recovering and that Gage is eating well. He looks super cute!
Same here, i read and I'm too tired to post. I guess that's what motherhood does to us.
I'm feeling better from the strep. Alisa finally gained 4oz this week so now she's at 5lb 15oz.


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## 2have4kids

Rq they are adorable. Happy Valentines indeed!

Froggy what a head of hair he has, and a handsome little man!

Rebecca we're exhausted too, DD has a head cold and has been up all night the past few nights. The twins are feeding every 2 hours, hungry little munchkins. That's a really good weight for Alisa, well done!

Fern how are you doing?

Ellie let us know how your scan goes, fx for lots of growth! 

Nimbec are you able to get some rest?

We had our first respite lady come to help us out yesterday. I think it was the first afternoon nap I've has since we brought the twins home. Was really lovely to get a few hours sleep!


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## rebecca822

2have those are lovely photos, I love that you did white and McKinley stands out in her cute dress. McKinley is a cute little thumb sucker!
I hope she feels better soon!

We're getting a high school volunteer for one hour for 4 consecutive saturdays. She will probably just play with my 4 year old since she needs the attention more than the twins. 
I wish I lived in another country it's so hard to be back and work! Damn maternity leave!


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## 2have4kids

:happydance:Rebecca fabulous news about the high school volunteer. I couldn't imagine going back to work right away. I was SO wanting Bernie to get in for you guys, you might have stood a chance at women's benefits like mat. leave and better healthcare but well, maybe in another 4 years America might get another opportunity to vote for those things:cry:


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## elliecain

The scan did not go well. At 35+5, he is estimated at 4lb 12oz and they are going to deliver him tomorrow. I'm in hospital now, unable to sleep. He was breech at the scan. I'm praying he has turned (midwife thought he might have done), so I can have an induction. Otherwise it's a CS in 5 hours' time. 
My poor baby will most likely need to go to SCBU and I don't know how he will be. I'm so worried but excited to meet him.


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## 2have4kids

elliecain said:


> The scan did not go well. At 35+5, he is estimated at 4lb 12oz and they are going to deliver him tomorrow. I'm in hospital now, unable to sleep. He was breech at the scan. I'm praying he has turned (midwife thought he might have done), so I can have an induction. Otherwise it's a CS in 5 hours' time.
> My poor baby will most likely need to go to SCBU and I don't know how he will be. I'm so worried but excited to meet him.

Ellie you've done your very best and at 4lbs 12 (mine were 4 14) he will do just fine. They'll likely put a feeding tube in his nose and he may use this for a few days and then they'll start him on a slow feeder and then a faster regular nipple. He'll likely be in a heated bed for a week and then out in a regular bassinet for a few days before you take him home. They'll show you how to change his nappy with all of the cathodes attached and do a bath with you. They'll also want you to bf and ensure your latch is good. It's a slow guided introduction to your cherub. And he'll have the skinniest little bum you've ever seen. Take a photo of things that shock you because in a week or two his little bum and legs will fatten right up and it'll be a memory. I have very few photos of those early days and none of them naked. I guess I really like to hold onto every memory but I was so busy running back & forth & preoccupied with my own health concerns I didn't take enough photos in the NICU. What I did like is they gave us the tiny itsy blood pressure cuffs and cathodes for them to keep. And a few really cute knitted caps. 
I hope this gives you an idea what it might be like. They'll set you up on a really good schedule before you go home. I almost feel lucky my babies had some time in the NICU, the nurses really helped set us up for success. Rebecca would you agree?


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## rebecca822

Ellicain I'm sorry to hear. I know you're disappointed and I totally get that! My son joe was 4lb 13oz whe he left the NICU at 5 ½ weeks.
My babies were born a few ounces short of 3 pounds. 
Don't worry so much about the weight, he'll catch up pretty quickly. At 35+ weeks he'll probably be eating pretty well by bottle already, he may need assistance breathing but likely not.
Don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds. 
I hope you can deliver vaginally but if not CS is a good option.
We're here for you if you need any support!

Hugs and can't wait for the pictures of your LO!


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## Fern81

First off, thinking of you Ellie Belle. Modern technology is so awesome; I'm so glad for all of us that we are living in THIS era and getting the medical care that we do. All the best for your delivery hun, I'll be checking in regularly to see how you are doing (IF you feel like updating ). Xx hugs!!

I'm smitten with all the gorgeous pics of little bubs!! 

Froggy- nice to hear from you, Gage looks like a happy little baby. I'm glad that you are doing well with feedings and that he is growing well.

Also glad to hear that Alisa is picking up weight Rebecca. Good job! And how nice re the high school volunteer, it should definitely help if she can take your busy toddler off your hands just for a while! I think your dd will enjoy the exclusive attention too. 

Rq- thanks for the Vday wishes, your twins are just scrumptious <3

2have - your family pics are delightful. You all look really happy and tranquil ;) even though I can't imagine it's always tranquil having 3 small daughters, you captured the best part of it!

Afm- I was made to be a mom lol I enjoy it SO MUCH! My studies, my job etc in which I always take pride- nothing compares to this. Can't wait for #2 already haha. I think it's easier because he sleeps 5-6 hours at a time at night so I'm not tired. The only thing I'm struggling with is very, very low milk supply. I try to bf a few times a day, then I pump as well and mix the few oz I get from pumping with formula for 3-4 bottles a day. I had breast surgery a few years ago and have started to suspect that my glandular tissue got damaged. But I'm doing what I can re getting some breast milk in his lil tummy :). Motherhood = happiness. Oh and H has agreed to counselling.


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so happy that H agreed to counseling that's great news! I hope you guys can work it out!
I'm sorry you're struggling with a low supply, it can be really frustrating. You're doing the best you can for your LO and that's the most important!


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## froggyfrog

Thinking of you today Ellie, looking forward to an update and picture of finlo. 

Fern that's so awesome that you can start counseling together. You both will just have to keep in mind that you didn't get where you are over night, so your solution won't be over night either. Big hugs to you! Also, I know what you mean about feeling like you were meant to be a mother. Every second of every day is so amazing no matter how tired I am. I would go through our struggle ten more times just knowing that I get my little boy out of it, he is worth it!


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## nimbec

Hi all 

Gosh Ellie i'm thinking of you! Hope you get your V birth but a section is ok honest :) its interesting how they see things differently only across the bridge. My boy is not much different to yours and they are not worried so you may be surprised when he is born and he will be bigger and stronger than you think. The other girls have given great explanations - my first Harrison was in SCBU and they are brilliant with them it will be hard to see Finlo with tubes etc but you will be surprised how quickly he will be home with you and it will be all go and you may even miss the help they give ;) 

Fern i'm so pleased H has agreed to getting help and also i'm pleased you are LOVING motherhood how exciting! I'm also praying my boy sleeps as Harrison didn't sleep for 6hrs until his second birthday!! 

All the pictures are gorgeous! 

Well as for me I had an appointment today too and it didn't go exactly to plan! I have to see the cardiologists tomorrow as my heart is doing a few funny things (nothing i'm worried about as happened last pregnancy too) but they are playing safe so thats ok with me. I have been given a date for section of 8th March assuming the cardiologists don't bring it forward....which i'll know tomorrow. They also said that i may not make it that long and go into natural labour. Think i'm the last....

Ellie hope you are ok!


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## rebecca822

Ninbec I'm sorry that you're having heart issues I hope the cardiologist does not find anything concerning. 
If you go into labor naturally will they let you try for a VBAC?
Good luck today I hope it goes well


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## 2have4kids

Fern I'm so glad you're enjoying motherhood this much AND thst your OZ
H agreed to counselling! Were you able to get done colostrum? That's the liquid gold and if you were able to get some to baby G you've done your part for his immune system. The rest is all about bonding & feeding, both of which you can happily do with putting him to the boob & formula supplementation. I'm sorry it hasn't come in as you liked but it sounds like you're doing a fabulous job with what you've got. Great news all around:happydance:

Nimbec sorry to hear about your heart issues, hopefully it's ok and you & baby are fine xx

Ellie I can't wait to hear from you. I hope everything went ok!

We just got back from our 40 week gestation GP appt and the girls are 7 pounds 7 ounces and 7 pounds 9 ounces. Teagan has a herniated belly button which she said will go away naturally and Piper got a perscription to help her with her reflux. They have strong necks, Teagan can almost lift her head by herself.


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## nimbec

Hi all 

2have wow they are growing super fast how exciting. Good you managed to get something to help with the reflux Harrison suffered terribly with it and in the end I bought crib raisers and tilted him - it really helped. 

As for me didn't quite go as expected I'm currently wired up to a mobile monitor and have been told by cariologists they would like me to deliver sooner rather than later due to pressures on my heart &#128580;. If the results of my current test are not good they will deliver next week if they are ok...or ok ish they will deliver the following week but no later - hmmm so will I have a February baby or a March?! I'm all ready and not to worried as I will be at least 37 weeks which I am pleased about. 

Rebecca they won't let me deliver naturally sadly due to a spinal fracture and condition I have from when I was younger I asked loads of times!! 

Ellie thinking of you hope all is ok. 

Hope everyone else is ok too and enjoying your weekend!


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## Rq120

Ellie - hope you are doing well. i saw your profile pic change

Nimbec - thinking of you and hoping for the best with your heart.


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## rebecca822

I'm sorry nimbec sounds rough. Glad you got this far and hopefully they'll give you another week. Better to be safe than sorry tho.


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## Fern81

2have- great weights, well done! Are you exclusively breastfeeding?

Nimbec- you have NOT had an easy pregnancy! Well you are nice and far along and it's almost done. Good luck for the last week or two, please take care!


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## elliecain

Thank you for your kind thoughts. 

It has been an insane 4 days. I'll update another time but I've put some on my journal. Link is second picture in my siggy. 

Good luck Nimbec xxx


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## 2have4kids

Congrats Ellie! 

Hang in there Nimbex, I hope your heart issues allow you to carry as long as possible. You've done a great job making it this far already!

Fern we're doing half n half. They drink 2.5 ounces each at least every two hours, and most times a full 5 ounces as we do diaper change afterwards which stirs them for a top up. I'm happy to be supplementing with formula. I'm terribly anemic right now and while I'm trying to get my hemoglobin back up it would effect them negatively if they were on bm exclusively. Anemia impairs cognitive function & development so it's the one thing I've been super careful of during pregnancy and after. Formulas all have lots of easy to digest iron. 


The twins picked ip the head cold that MacKinley had:dohh: so it'll likely be one more week of sleepless nights. They sound aweful and we've been having to suck their snot out with the snot-sucker tool. I feel terrible for them. They sound just miserable right now! On the positive, DD is on the mend.


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## nimbec

Gosh Ellie how worrying, I'm pleased to see things are heading the right way now he's a fighter!! Keep us updated I'm sure he will be home before you know it and you can enjoy cuddles all day long &#128512;. 

No news here got appt thus and they will deliver either Friday or one day next week...watch this space unless of course he comes before! 37 weeks today I feel so happy as I was determined to make 37 this time having had an early arrival last time I'm sure you can all relate &#128077;

2have you must be exhausted look after yourself too :)


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## froggyfrog

Hope everyone is doing well!! Ellie, thinking of you and your son!! 

Gage had his one month check up and is in the 97th percentile for his height of 23 inches, and the 70th percentile for his weight of 10 lbs 7 1/2 ozs. He sleeps really well at night with 3 to 4 hour stretches. During the day is a whole other story! His naps are awful, I don't get much done during the day but that's ok. DH has been wonderful with picking up my slack with the house chores when he gets home from work. Are any of you going on birth control? We weren't going to, but then we decided the other day that maybe I would go on track pill just for a year, and then he off and ntnp for six months before we go in for an embryo transfer. Chances are way way low for a natural pregnancy, but it's not completely impossible, and we really didn't want to go so close in age.


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## Fern81

Nimbec- hope all is well, keep us updated after your appt today! Wow when I think of all the years you and I have posted here together I can't believe both our sons are (almost) finally here!

2have - wow they chow down a lot! :) mine only eats 2 hourly when he's really hungry and that's usually after bf. When he has formula or a combo feed he goes 3-5 hours. Last night he had a formula bottle at 10 and I had to wake him at 5 am (!!) For a 120 ml feed. But then he cluster fed this morning to make up for it which I don't mind lol!

Froggy- gage is a big boy! I think a vb might have been super ouchy ;). Good to hear he is growing so well. I want to go back on my bc pill because we don't want to try "naturally" before using our embies (thinking of FET next year April/may) and also I need to keep my endometriosis in check. I'm going to ask my gynae at my 7week postpartum visit.


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## nimbec

Hi all quick update I was admitted last night contractions and keytones in urine I see consultant 11am and they seem to think they will deliver me today or tomorrow unless my body insists right now lol! 

I'll reply properly later x


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## rebecca822

Oohh good luck nimbec! Looking forward to your update


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## froggyfrog

Good luck nimbec!!


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## Fern81

Woohoo Nimbec how exciting! All the best, I hope everything goes smoothly xx


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## Rq120

Nimbec - best of luck

Our family is doing well. We are planning on putting the house for sale in about 10 weeks so we are busy with babies and home improvement. 

I AM going on birth control. I talked to the doc about it and decided on mirena. He said studies are showing it as effective for pain control in endometriosis as lupron. Besides DH and I might be done having kids. I'm 35 and it's hard to imagine having another in a few years with two toddlers! But we aren't closing any doors and will re-evaluate later. 

Hope everyone is doing well!


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## 2have4kids

Nimbec all the best with the delivery, will be thinking of you and checking back to see how you & baby are!

I'm sorry to hear there's so much endometriosis on this thread. My friend eventually had a historectomy thanks to the pain & complications of endo. She also couldn't get pregnant and her DH refused to adopt so they don't have children. Being infertile is painful enough without chronic pain of endo. 

RQ good luck with the move and managing your children, you'll have your work cut out for you. 

Ellie how are you doing? 

Rebecca how's Alisa? Hopefully gaining weight and doing well.

Fern with all that trouble in your relationship would you even want to bd with him if you didn't have frosties? DH and I still have rocky times and really don't bd right now (well I am still healing), but I think it'd still be a little akward for us until we can sort some things. I think we'll get there but right now we're fucussing on working as a teM to provide for and support our children. Intimacy is a while 'nother level!

It's DH's birthday today and we have 2 babysitters coming to care for the twins on Friday and have plans for a lovely group dinner out. I took a shower this morning and brought the babies into the bathroom. The steam really helped their congestion. They sneezed their little heads off and had snot running down their lip. Poor wee cherubs. Thankfully I think we're on the tail end of it now.


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## nimbec

Hi all quick update I'll write more later. 

Baby Hugo arrived this morning at 11.46 am tiny 5.15oz but strong and healthy. I went into labour last night and things got very real very fast this morning. He turned breech in the night and wedged him bum in my birth canal &#128584; Cheeky already. Full update soon I'm exhausted xx


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## Fern81

Congrats Nimbec! ! So glad it all went well. Hope you can get some rest hun, enjoy baby Hugo!!


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## elliecain

Congratulations Nimbec! Enjoy every minute you get to spend with him xxx


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## 2have4kids

Congrats Nimbec, enjoy & rest up:bunny:


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## Rq120

Congrats Nimbec. 

Lots of packing this weekend. I'm exhausted. I hope everyone is well.


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## 2have4kids

Nimbec how is motherhood treating you? 

RQ don't overdo it! With bf-ing and carrying around a new baby you need to protect your back!

Fern, Ellie, Rebecca, and Froggy how are you ladies? 

The twins are over their colds. DH went skiing today and my mom came to help me. The twins were up almost all day wanting to feed & be burped, it was exhausting! I'm glad to be sitting here pumping while DH sorts them all out lol. I think grandma waltzed in feeling energetic and light like Mary Poppins and left feeling like she needs a week to recover!:haha:


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## Rq120

Lol 2have. Some days (or hours) the twins are easy and others not so much. There are days where DH or I are better equipped to handle them. If I'm having an off day then DH steps in and visa versa.

Tomorrow we are visiting my workplace and bringing the babies. My coworkers are very excited to see them. Today the babies are 7 weeks. Time is just flying by and they are growing so fast. My Claire is getting so chunky. Oliver is growing but still mostly lean. He is eating well but just isn't as good of an eater as his sister. 

Hope all the new moms are doing well!


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## Rq120

My chubby cheeked baby girl and little dude
 



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## rebecca822

Aww rq they are precious!! Wow 7 weeks already it's crazy!!
Hope everyone else is doing well. Since returning to work I have barely found a minute to myself!
The twins are good, Alisa is finally eating and hopefully close to 7lbs by now. Joe is doing great and I'm guessing he's over 8lbs already.
They sleep about 4 hours at night but the dr really wants us to wake them to eat since they still need to gain.


Hope all the new moms and babies are doing well!


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## elliecain

Still in NICU and no idea how much longer. He's so beautiful and perfect though.
 



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## 2have4kids

RQ and Ellie gorgeous pics! Thanks for sharing <3


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## Fern81

Such gorgeous babies!!

Sorry I'm just quickly popping in. Life is crazy busy as I've had to start working again after only a month boooo!! Baby is doing well, I'm completely overwhelmed but will get into a routine.


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## froggyfrog

So sweet RQ and Ellie! 

I hope he gets to go home soon Ellie! 

Fern, sorry you had to go back so soon, I'm sure you will find your routine soon!!


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## Rq120

Ellie - such big beautiful eyes!!! Gorgeous 

Sucks that everyone is returning to work. I still have 3 more weeks and I'm going to soak up every minute. I'll be unpaid for some of it but totally worth it.


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## froggyfrog




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## nimbec

Hi Ladies 

Sorry for the slow reply it's been a bit of a whirlwind here. Currently on the children's ward waiting results of the second blood test to see if he needs light therapy for Jaundice, he was borderline Tuesday. He is also suffering with terrible reflux and is vomiting his milk up and even 2hrs later being sick in to mouth and swallowing it again poor boy!! Then on top of that I now have a Rhine infection and today my wound has opened so just been upto the postnatal ward to be glued back together - I'm just about holding it together lol!!

I LOVE all the pics - I can't work out how to put one on...as soon as I figure it out I'll post one of Hugo. 

Ellie I'm reading your journal and really pleased to see you have been downgraded and are closer to home - all positive steps! You have been through so much please keep strong and remember to look after yourself as Finlo needs a well mummy. 

Fern sorry you have to go back to work, sadly I will be in the same position :( who looks after him when you are teaching? 

RQ 7 weeks blimey where has that time gone! 

Rebecca gosh good weights and wow I'd kill for 4hrs sleep &#128564; You must be so proud of them. I don't know how you twin mummies cope I take my hat off to you all! 

Hi to everyone else. Sorry I don't post much I do read but I'm so tired I can't think straight at the minute &#128584;


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## Fern81

Oh no nimbec you can't catch a break! Hope they sort out Hugo's jaundice and feeding issues. Did they give him medicine for the reflux? And having your c-section wound reopen...! I hope you are ok and that you can catch a few good hours' sleep.

I also don't know how the twin mommies do it. I really want another baby but I'm already worried about how I will handle a toddler and a newborn at the same time & work & household; yet billions of others do it lol I'm such a worrypot.

Rq enjoy the last of your leave! And gl with getting your house sold and getting ready for your move. 

Rebecca I'm glad to hear alisa is catching up.

Froggy - that lil man is sooo cute, has he started smiling already!? 

2have - to answer your earlier question I don't think we will bd very often, I can't remember the last time we dtd. The pill or depo provera or whatever will be more useful for keeping the endo in check so that I have a chance of falling pregnant again with the planned FET. Yah endo sucks. I'm glad my son will never have to suffer with it. Glad your twins are over their colds. I can imagine it's so hard to care for 3 sick girls. 

Afm we're doing well, I did get a nanny/cleaning lady but G is still so small and fragile that I don't want to leave him alone with her yet. (My mom looks after him for now but she is very busy usually so she will only be able to do it for a few weeks). The nanny doesn't have any education and I had to teach her proper hygiene eg washing hands etc. So I want to wait until G has had his 6 week vaccines and until his immune system is a bit stronger (8weeks) before I'll feel comfortable letting her feed him and hold him. I will have to sit with them the first few times she does that. And I bought her a new overcoat that she has to wear when holding him, she once put his dummy back in his mouth in the middle of cleaning my house, so her hands were not washed and her overcoat was obviously not very clean ugh. I can't afford a trained child care professional and don't want to take him to daycare so I'll just have to train her.


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## 2have4kids

Nimbec I'm sorry you're going through all of this when you really should be enjoying your wee cherub. Heal up fast!! He's in the best place to deal with the reflux. Hopefully they can get him on some meds and teach you & the family how to feed so to reduce reflux. I found my mom tends to very quickly go back to holding the babies very horizontal when feeding (which is very natural isn't it?) but reflux babies need to be held quite vertically and then vertical for a good half hour after a feed. It's hard to stress that with DH, my mom, and visitor who want to hold & feed the girls. The nurses were quick to correct my mom on a number of occasions but I'm afraid it doesn't stick unless the babies puke all over. And that's not nice for them and a hard way for us adults to learn too.

Fern, good on you for training up your nanny! Basic hygiene is so important around newborns with zero immunity. And for me first aid with choking and CPR was essential basics for our family and babysitters to have. Very easy to teach too. I'm pretty sure we'll be in the same situation as you with a nanny. They know how to care for children not necessarily primed in CPR, first aid, or careful hygiene. And even if they have some level of training I'll have eyes in the back of my head for those sorts of things along with safe food handling. No one cares for your children as well as you do. All it takes is a toddle choking for a minute or two to have a brain damaged child. There's no way a medic would make it to the house on time. And my mom would have simply patted a baby on the back for a choke and really that lodges the blockage further right? So mom, sis and babysitters all have child & infant first aid & CPR. You're right with the toddler/baby difficulties. With two babies you're making 2 bottles, warming two blankets, changing two bums, dealing with the same vaccination woes, and they go through all the same development stages. With an opinionated toddler, who's just found her legs, learned three words one of which is no, and is curious, and able to get into e v e r y t h i n g, and has a fit when you turn to sort the baby, it's a little more challenging for sure! What doesn&#8217;t kill you...:rofl::headspin::help:


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## nimbec

Hi Ladies just to let you know we have been in hospital a few days now and he has had phototherapy for his jaundice he looked super cute with his funny mask on under the lights. Jaundice all sorted but sadly he has been very lethargic and the docs are concerned. They can't find a reason why at the moment but are running some more tests in the morning. He slept through giving blood and being examined several times &#128584;. The reflux situation is frustrating me they have seen it as he has puked over nearly everyone lol but seem reluctant to recommend anything o me other than keeping upright and crib tilted which I already do argh! 

2have I find it hard with a nearly 4yr old at home never mind a younger one I take my hat off to you!!


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## rebecca822

Nimbec sorry about the photo lights, my twins had that too! Baby Joe vomited quite often while in the hospital to the point that they took X-rays of his stomach. He did thankfully outgrow it and start to gain weight. He was quite small and frail during that time, about 1300 grams or smaller I can't recall. Hopefully your little guy will outgrow it too. One thing that was helpful they put his feeds on a pump and it slowly dropped into his tummy over two hours. His way he had time to slowly digest the food.

Glad everyone is doing well! Joe is now 8lbs and Alisa is 6.9. Alisa is still struggling to eat.


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## Fern81

Nimbec how is Hugo doing?

Hope everyone is well! We saw the pediatrician yesterday and G weighs 5kg now so he's growing well. He's starting to smile a bit. Time is flying by!


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## nimbec

Hi everyone &#128075;

Fern that's a great weight! Time is flying by and it only gets quicker. Harrison my first is 4 tomorrow - can you actually believe it?!! Also made me realise that we have been chatting on here for about 6 years &#128515; Wow! I'm so pleased you are enjoying being a mum and I'm sure your lady will learn quickly for you at least when you teach someone they do it how you want it done rather than their own habits. 

We are HOME and well yay!! My mum has come down to help to which has been a godsend. My hubby is great but he is fully snowed under with business as I'm not working and also getting Harrison ready etc. It's lovely to have some mummy cooked food &#128514;

Ellie great news about Finlo I'm really pleased for you - I've been reading your journal what a journey and I'm so pleased to see you are closer to coming home! How much does he weigh now? 

How is everyone else? Hope you and your little ones are all ok. Thinking of you all.


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## ES89

Still waiting on my little miracle to arrive! EDD is Saturday. Hope everyone is well xx


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## Fern81

All the best ES, how exciting! Can't wait to read your birth story. Hope everything goes really well :).

Thinking a lot about all of you ladies. I guess we are all really busy with babies etc but you are in my heart and in my thoughts :). Hope you are all doing well! We're still going strong, G is growing and smiling and seems to be a healthy baby. I struggled a bit with feeling overwhelmed when I had to go back to work (still do) but my mom has been helping out a lot. We're going away for the weekend this coming Friday, to a bushveld retreat. Can't wait!


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## nimbec

Eek Es not long now!!! 

Fern I know the feeling I'm working and it's tough! Glad all is well though &#128512;

We are ok had a bit of a rough ride in and out of hospital for various things but now on the mend - well apart from I have mastitis which is horrid yuk!! Hugo is 4 weeks tomorrow how did that happen?! 

Hope everyone is ok! X


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## Rq120

Hi all. Life has been crazy. My sister in law lives with us after a divorce last fall. Her ex-husband commited suicide 2 weeks ago. A week later my almost 11 year old Boston Terrier passed away. He was my original baby. Then I hosted my best friend's bridal shower and attended her bachelorette party. This is my last week home before going back to work. I'm working next week and then DH, babies and I are heading to Mexico for the wedding. Also, I booked airfare for DH to go to Florida May 5th to look at houses. Plan is to put our house on the market May 1st.

Whew! That was a big update! Claire and Oliver are doing great. At their two month visit Claire was almost 11lbs and Oliver was 9.25lbs. Oliver is a happy boy and has been smiling for a while. Claire is more introspective and I just got my first smile last weekend. I'm so thankful DH is staying home with the babies. They have been so healthy so far and I'm glad to be avoiding daycare germs. Still getting up every 3.5hrs to eat at night but it's just because they are twins and one will wake up hungry before the other at different times during the night. I thank God for my little miracles every night. We are so blessed with two amazing, beautiful babes. 

Hope all you mommas are doing well. Staying busy I'm sure! Nimbec I hope all is well with everyone's health.
 



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## rebecca822

Wow rq seems tough! Your babies are adorable and glad they are well!
Nimbec will you be going back to work soon?
Fern I'm glad G is doing well. How is H handling with him these days?
Es bang in there can't wait for your birth story!

Joe and Alisa are good! At their check up on march 7 joe was 8lb 6oz and Alisa 7lb 4oz. Alisa is still struggling with eating and gaining but she's come a long way. They are both super fussy and need to be held all day. Work is busy and it's really been hard with working and caring for them. We have a nanny but there's still so much to do.

I'm still pumping around the clock and they're drinking bottles with breast milk.


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## froggyfrog

Wow rq that's a lot! I hope that life can calm down a bit for you, but seems doubtful with a move in your future.

Fern so glad to hear all is going well, our boys will be 2 months on Friday! So crazy!!

Rebecca I don't know how your doing it, even with a nanny I can't imagine how busy you stay!

So excited for you es! It will be here so soon!!

Gage has his two month well child on Friday, I'm not looking forward to vaccines but very curious to see his growth! We had to move two weeks ago because dh got transferred for work, so that was fun with a six week old and two dogs lol. Gage was also going through a spurt during the move so I was basically stuck to the couch breastfeeding while dh packed the house and loaded the truck.


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## Fern81

So nice to hear from everyone! 

Oohh ouch nimbec, are you getting treatment for the mastitis? Glad to hear everything else is better :) and that hugo is over 4 weeks already! Urgh work sucks lol. Who looks after Hugo when you are at work?

Wow rq that's hectic. Sorry to hear about you ex bil and your little doggy that passed away. HUGS. Hope you find an amazing new home. Aawww your babies are lovely! 

Happy 2 months Froggy!! How did Gage fare at his well child visit? Was he OK after his shots? Shame my baby screamed sooo loudly I immediately started crying and lactating (and I don't even really breastfeed lol!).

Rebecca- sorry to hear that the twins are such a handful. If it's any consolation, my sister also has twins (and an older daughter) and she says if the parents can survive the first year with twins, it becomes much easier. Hers are 18 months old now and play together, keep each other busy & are just sooo cute. Well after H agreed to counselling he suddenly became calmer and started helping out a lot with baby G. It's as if he's scared to actually carry out his promise to go to counselling and now he's being nice. I don't understand him! But he has been nice for weeks so I'm not complaining. 

So we are having a blast at our weekend retreat! We were here in 2014 when I was still ttc and now I'm here with my baby. Bliss :). Went for a walk in the bushveld with the pram this morning. Phew what a good workout. Saw a lot of wildlife and G enjoyed the rocky pram ride.
One more thing (if I may brag!) Baby G has started stretching out his night feedings more and more; as from 3 nights ago he sleeps all night! From 7-9 pm until 6/7 am. He makes up for it by eating more frequently during the day. Because we are sooo very lucky with an easy baby, we want to do FET soon for #2 (thinking of September if I start getting regular cycles again).


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## froggyfrog

I cried too fern! That was just so awful! I just held him and loved on him the rest of the day, and offered him breast more often to see if that would comfort him. He weighs 12 lbs and 1oz and is 23 1/2 inches. 

So glad that things are finally going smooth for you and your husband. I really hope they continue! And wow on planning your fet! How exciting! We are thinking about maybe august if 2018. That would put Gage and the new baby a little more than two years apart and also my OB didn't want me getting pregnant until after a year to let the CS scars heal on my uterus. Your retreat sounds fun! We are thinking about getting out in a little while for a little market they have on saturdays on the river walk.


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## froggyfrog




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## Rq120

Froggy- Gage is too cute!! Lots of hair. 

We got Easter pics today. I'll be interested to see how they turn out. One week today we will be in Mexico!


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## Fern81

Froggy- gage is seriously beautiful :). 

Our weekend away was so nice. I love bushveld holidays, it's absolutely one of my favourite things to do and as it turns out it's much more fun with a baby. We went on game drives with him in his carrier, had barbeques outside with him kicking contentedly on the grass, went for walks etc. We all had a lovely time, in fact we extended our stay with one night and got up at 4 this morning to drive home before dh had to go to work. 

I'm seriously starting to diet today. I've been eating the same way I did when I was preggies, PLUS drinking wine and ciders, so the weight is not coming off and I'm tired of being fat! Atkins time. We'll see how much I've lost a week from now, wish me luck.


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## 2have4kids

Fern glad to hear you're enjoying this time and I hear you with enjoying the treats! I've been having too msny at night when I stay i with the girls and need to roll it back a bit. Our girls were troopers with their vaccinations. We split them up so they only get 1 jab per vosit. They got the dtap and oral rotavirus on their first visit and that cause some tummy upset. Piper howled like I've never heard a baby cry that evening. They go back Tuesday again for the pnemoniacoccal strain.

RQ sorry to hear all of the bad news, I turn into a blubbering mess with death, either human or animal. Sending you big hugs! Love the pic, they are sooo sweet!

Froggy how adorable is he!! Gage is such a handsome lad!

Rebecca your schedule soundd hectic. I hope all you moms that had to go back to work are still able to find the time to enjoy your cherubs. 

Nimbec how are you doing? Are you all healed up now and how's the mastitis? That's got to be the worst. My nurse told me to take advil to help woth the swelling when my milk came in. I've had almost completely blocked up milk with MacKinley last year on a ski vacation where I dodn't pump or feed for too long a period. Just about cried it was so painful. Don't wish that on anyone!

I hope I didn't miss anyone. Hope all you ladies & babies are doing well!
It's warming up here so we've been doing daily walks with all 3 girls. The babies are approaching their 3 month birthday on a week. They're more alwet and everyone comments on how they've chubbied up.
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## elliecain

I thought I'd pop in here. Finlo is now 6 weeks old and has gained so much weight since being home. In 3 weeks, he gained 1lb 10oz and is now 7lb 1oz! I'm really proud that he's exclusively on breast milk. It's been so hard at times, I've got blisters on my right nipple and my whole boob is agony, with shooting pains. I'm determined though and have carried on. 

Here's my handsome little man:

https://i66.tinypic.com/112g95c.jpg https://i64.tinypic.com/29du783.jpg
https://i68.tinypic.com/2v29xz8.jpg https://i64.tinypic.com/2wr47ed.jpg


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## 2have4kids

Ellie he's so angelic! Well done on the weight gain and breast feeding. Sorry to hear about the blisters. I was black & blue with my first, it's all so worth the pain isn't it? If you're exclusively bf-ing just ensure your doc tests you for anemia which is super common post partum. If you're anemic, Finlo may need iron supplements. I was extremely anemic and told to stay on my prenatal vits plus take 150 Feramax iron supps. But they weren't concerned about supplementing babies as they're on partial formula, which is loaded with iron. There are long term consequences for babies in womb and out who don't get enough iron. I hope Idon't seem like I'm ranting about the iron stuff it's just there are waaayy too many ADD, ADHD and learning disabilities kids out there and growing amount of evidence (WHO website) that low iron & anemia in pregnant mothers are linked to this. But doctors rarely test/advise on this unless we ask (I had to anyway at my 6week check up and she was shocked at my numbers despite all the extra iron I took over my prenatal while preggers).


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## elliecain

That's really good advice, I'll get the doctor to check that tomorrow at our 6 week check up. I was anaemic after the birth due to heavy CS blood loss and took iron but they didn't recheck afterwards and I did also bleed for 5.5 weeks.


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## Fern81

Ellie Finlo is SO adorable. Sorry to hear you have some bf woes but good job for sticking to it!! I'm hoping to breastfeed baby #2. 

2have that pic is sooo precious. How is MacKinley with the twins? 

Things are still going well here. Ds had his 2nd round of shots yesterday and weighs just over 6kg so he's doubled his birth weight already.


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## ES89

I had a baby girl, named her Arya Kimberley Williams weighing 8lb 2oz at 1.34am &#128151;


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## elliecain

Congratulations ES! Any pictures?


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## 2have4kids

Es congrats! That's a lovely name and great weight. How was the birth/labour for you?

Hi Fern, Baby G is doing great with his weight! How many times are you up at night for feeds, hopefully it's getting less frequent as his tummy expands to hold more food. How are you? I keep getting comments on fb that MacKinley doesn't look like a baby anymore and it really does feel like she's a typical toddler now. She has full on tantrums if she has to leave and doesn't want to, and sometimes if we're up to eyeballs in twin duties. You can't blame her though, she's lost being center of attention to not 1 but 2 other little humans. I take her out all the time though without the twins. We do Gymboree Wed mornings, Saturday we did a walk and coffee/breakfast at the Italian market down the path from our house, today we did an easter egg hunt & petting zoo at a local farm with grandma and we go to the wave pool after supper once/week. She's a well attended to little lady!

Who was it in here that also had gestational diabetes, anyone? My memory is totally shot with the lack of sleep! I'd like to know if anyone else did a 3 month post partum diabetes screen. I was shocked to hear that I'm pre-diabetic! They called me after my test to ask if I was ok. After drinking all that sugar they said my count was 1.7, critically low. Apparently your blood sugar has a quick super high and then tanks super low making you feel faint, with potential heart palpitation or seizures, and spurring a dose of adrenalin when you're prediabetic. I actually never feel too bad, after breaky a bit faint in the shower but that's it. Then as the insulin fails to get produced by the pancreas Blood sugar soars and then the need to start injecting after meals. The doctor said I have to eat small frequent meals, for pre-diabetes, low carb & sugar, high protein (as I always have). I have no family with diabetes, no cultural predisposition, and for my weight & fitness it's surprising. But a friend who's in training to be a doctor said to me we are born with a certain amount of pancreatic cells that produce insulin. Some pancreases used up those cells by age 3, others in the teens but most later in life. Sometimes genetic, sometimes helped by environment (eating too much sugar & carbs and using them all up), sometimes just bad luck. I guess I've got bad luck on this one!! But on a positive note the twins were up past 10 pounds. They're smiling & cooing loads. We're loving it!!


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## Fern81

Oh congratulations ES, I actually had a dream that you posted on here and had a girl! :) I would also love to read your birth story if you would like to share! 

2have - G weaned himself off night feeds pretty early on, I think by 6 weeks he would have a bottle at around 7pm, then one at 3/4 am and another at 6/7 am. He quickly dropped the 3/4 am one too and was sleeping through the night at 2 months old. He drinks a final bottle now at around 7pm, falls asleep between 7-10 pm and wakes for another bottle at around 6. He sleeps very quietly so no waking with him. Sometimes I wake up and just feel if he's still breathing! And he falls asleep anywhere; on us, in his carrycot, etc. So we haven't had a bedtime routine. I suppose I have to start implementing more of 
a routine as he is at an age where they start noticing patterns & feel comfortable with a routine. However it's been so convenient to give him a bottle and just having him fall asleep cuddled on the couch with dh & I that I've been too lazy to do a whole "bath, bottle, bed, story, song, swaddle" etc with him. I'm going to try getting some kind of routine going, don't know what yet. When I leave him be, he falls asleep happily. When I try to force him down at a certain time and he's not ready, he just becomes upset so idk.

Geez I'm sorry to hear about your possible diagnosis! I had a teacher who told us that because of the shock of pregnancy on her body, her pancreatic cells were damaged and she got diabetes 1. I have no idea if she was correctly diagnosed though, this was 20+ years ago. What a shocking thing to hear! At least you are used to eating healthy and exercising. I really hope you don't get diabetes. Xx oh btw it was Froggy who had GD.


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## froggyfrog

Congrats Es!!! Can't wait to see pictures! 

2have that's wonderful that your are able to spend so much alone time with dd1! What a lucky little girl! Sorry to hear about your diagnosis of pre-diabetes. My OB wants me to do a three hour test but I honestly don't know how I would make that happen by myself with the baby and nobody to watch him. Sitting at the dr office for three hours fasting with him by myself sounds like a real nightmare! I may just do a week of checking my numbers two hours after meals and turn those in to the dr to see what they think, if they will accept that. 

Fern sounds like your guy is such a great sleeper! That's awesome! We do a nightly routine that we really just started about two weeks ago. I only bathe him every 2-3days until he is crawling or scooting. I just wipe his hands neck and face every night. We start at 7pm and I change him into pjs, put some night time lotion on him, let him have a bit of tummy time and then we read a book. By the it's 7:30-7:45 and I nurse him until nine since he cluster feeds at night and start putting him down at nine. It usually takes at least two times to put him down finally. He will wake and I rock him back to sleep. It is really nice because dh and I will have at least an hour of just us watching tv and cuddling before we go to bed. And it gives me some time without a baby attached to me lol. He won't nap without being held during the day so I'll have him with me during his nap and nursing which is much of our day since he is still EBF. But when he is awake and well rested and fed he is good to be put down and entertains himself in the activity gym or bouncy chair. And that gives me a chance to run around to clean and get dinner started. I do try to wear him when I have a lot of stuff t do around the house, but I do have to time that just right, he has to be already asleep or very drowsy before I can put him in. So that means I have to try to put the wrap on before he falls asleep because if I put him down to put it on, it just wakes him back up. Some days I get a bit overwhelmed not being able to put him down, but I just tell myself that this is a phase and I will one day miss holding and cuddling my sleeping baby so I just soak in the moment! I have learned to not have such high expectations of how much I actually get done around the house. Weekends are great when dh is home because I can do other stuff like groom the dogs or clean bathrooms with chemicals that I couldn't do wearing him and really dwearing my feel comfortable while he is awake in case he needs me and I'm covered in cleaners. I could ask dh to do it, but honestly it gives me something to do that doesn't revolve around Gage. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining about being with my baby, I just find those little breaks make me a better mom. I literally have no family or friends around so I'm alone all day every day during the week with him, and he gets all of my attention and energy so it's nice to have and hour here or there throughout the week.


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## rebecca822

Congrats ES, what a lovely name. Enjoy your little girl :)
2have- gosh sorry about the Diabetes, sounds rough! Glad the twins are well. Good for you that you give McKinley her own attention, it's so hard with the twins but nice that you find the extra time for her.
Fern- wow amazing schedule that you've got going! A nighttime routine is great, you'll be happy when you start with that. 
Froggy- Gage sounds super cuddly, so glad you're enjoying that special bond with your LO. 

Can't believe that we were just starting with the FET last year at this time. I am so so grateful to where we are today with our 3 little kiddos.
The twins are well, they're still a few months behind schedule but they'll catch up eventually. 
Nice hearing from you ladies!


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## Rq120

Hi ladies,

I hope you are all doing well. I'm back from Mexico and back to work this week. 

The wedding was beautiful. The babies did great traveling. The overall vacation was good considering, but it was rather expensive to just take care of two babies in a hotel room for most of it. LOL. You are not supposed to use sunscreen yet and we didn't want the babies to get overheated so we didn't spend a lot of time outside. They would get hot even in the shade with a breeze. We took Claire in the ocean but it was super windy which made for some big waves and we didn't stay in long. Oliver went into the pool but it was too cold for him and he was screaming. We moved him into the hot tub that wasn't hot but warm like a bath and he settled right down. He is so sensitive, especially compared to Claire.

Work is going as well as expected. It's easier since DH is staying at home with the babes. I think daycare would be harder. DH sends me pictures all day of them so I get my baby fix throughout the day. They get up once at night anytime from 2-4 am and DH gets up and feeds them both and won't let me get up since I have to work. They then make it until 6-7am when they want another small feeding. Then they will sleep for another hour or so.

I talked to my boss this week and I'm not going to be able to take my position when I move and work from home in my CURRENT role. However, I am working on transitioning to another role where I could work from home. I'll talk to the hiring manager for that role next week so hopefully I'll have more of an idea then. In the mean time I am apply for jobs in Florida. There is an overnight position open in a hospital that sounds promising if I can't stay with my current company. House goes on the market May 1st. 

Claire and Oliver are doing well. Getting bigger and bigger every day. Claire is a little chunky butt!!! Oliver is a little smaller but still following his growth curve. They are so sweet and so independent. They are incredibly good babies and are easy to care for. I get my cuddles but they are just as content in the swing or on their activity mat. Oliver does have a witching hour at night but it is manageable. They have great head control and they LOVE their Fisher Price Sit Me Up seats!

That's our update for now. Life is nice and quiet right now, but it's the calm before the storm I'm sure. Everyone take care.


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## rebecca822

Rq I really enjoyed reading your update. You are so blessed to have such easy twins! I'm so glad you had a nice vacation, even if you were indoors for most of it.

Joe and Alisa are doing well. They are gaining nicely and eating well. Joe weighs 10lbs and Alisa 8lb 9oz. We got Alisa's ears pierced last week after her 4 month check up! Although they are not difficult babies they are not super easy. They lose patience with any activity after 10 minutes. Alisa screams a lot! They sleep from 7pm to 1am and then sleep until 6am, so I'm not complaining!

Hope everyone else is doing well!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, so nice to hear your updates! RQ and Fern they sound like easy babies! Rebecca yes thanks for the reminder, it was last year at this time that I too was gearing up for the transfer. What an exciting thing. Now look where we are!

My milk officially dried up. I'm a little sad but happy to sell a few things. Ie the Halo bassinest and Spectra pump will bring in ~ $500 which I'll use to purchase a baby Brezza to make formula bottles with. Is anyone using this and if so can you tell me if you like it or not? 

I'm excited but a little scared, we've booked a vacation to Cancun in Oct. RQ where abouts were you guys? We normalky go to Playa del Carmen but I couldn't fathom getting off a 6 hour flight and having to catch a bus to do another 1.5 hour journey to the hotel. The twins won't quite be walking then, just rolling and crawling. Our resort is pretty family friendly with kitchens and cribs so that's a bit if a relief. I wanted us to go somewhere before we have to pay for all 3 girls' seats:dohh:but before my work starts back up in Jan/Feb next year.

I did manage to get a fun photo of dd and I bf-ing our twins (her twin dolls) before my milk dried up.


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## Fern81

Haha 2have that photo is just precious! Seems like MacKinley is integrating well with the twins. Sorry about your milk, well I'm also EFF now due to milk supply issues. At least we live in a time with great formulas. 

Rebecca- sorry that your twins are such a handful but it seems like you are sleeping OK. Geez it must be difficult to work and handle all the kids...! 

Rq how are you doing back at work? Glad to hear you had such a nice holiday. It's a different perspective with kiddies hey. Much nicer imo :).

Yep it's bittersweet to think back on last year this time. I didn't like the ivf process but here I am with my sweet boy on my lap, I love him so much! He recently discovered his voice and keeps making the cutest sounds lol. Also loves sitting up and is starting to get better at tummy time. They grow up so fast.


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## Fern81

Hope this works- recent pic of my squishy boy :)
 



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## rebecca822

Omg 2have that picture is awesome!
Sorry about your milk, but formula works well too :)
I'm still pumping for the twins and so grateful it's working. I feel sad that I don't nurse them, and I think I'm gonna try to actually nurse them now that they're eating has improved. 
I've heard Playa Del Carmen is beautiful, but I totally get you about all the hassle of the extended trip. Wow, can't imagine going anywhere on a plane with the twins. We only once went out with them other than to doctors appointments, it's just too overwhelming!!

Fern baby G is just adorable, I can't believe how much he's doing already! It's sad how quickly they grow up!


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## Fern81

Rebecca I'm glad to hear that pumping is going well and that the twins' feeding has improved. Reading all about everyone's twins and living with my sister's 2yo twins, I'm sure I will struggle with twins lol. But my remaining 2 frozen embies are frozen together so I'm between a rock and a hard place; do we put both back or not? How do we even choose. Oi. 

I'd love to see pics of everyone's babies :)


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## 2have4kids

Fern baby G is adorable! IVF is pretty invasive. FET's are much easier. I hope you find it a cinch compared to IVF then Fern. The stimming and retrieval are the most cumbersome part. Mind you if you have to inject progesterone many peopke find this pretty hard too. I'm pretty ok with needles these days after 6 years of stims Nd Injectible hormones!:sick:

You know what I'd do Fern with the single vs double embryo transfer!! i much prefer the risk of twins over failure. But you're speaking to a lady with 5 years of devastating failures and more than 100K in fertility costs. My friend in B&B got twins with her donor Emby transfer too and now she's going back for another double transfer. In fact the multiples boards on FB are chalk a block with double twin moms, I was really surprised! We knew it's going to be a blurry first year and hopefully just chaotic playtime with 3 girls after that. 

Rebecca do you think tring just doing things with 1 twin would be easier for you? I usually take a twin with me if they're both up and I'm doing something with Mack. 1 stays home with dad. Today MacKinley had Gymboree class and I wore Teagan through the whole class. I was able to lift and help Mack stay safe as both arms were free and Teagan was really interested in all the action. It was great because Teagan slept like a rock after that. We did a walk to Walmart this evening and Piper came with us. I really like baby wearing and having hands freed up. But someone needs to stay with the other twin. They seem to want to be held all the time and I find that irritating when I have so much stuff to do (passports, taxes, thank you cards, stuff with MacKinkey, cleaning, the list never ends!) baby holder visitors are just the best! We had family over during Easter who drove 8 hours to meet the twins. With 3 baby holders hosting a dinner party was actually enjoyable:haha:


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## froggyfrog

Hey ladies!!!! 

Hard to believe that it's almost a year since our bfps! May 15th was our amazing day!

2have that pic is everything! How adorable! Sorry that your milk dried up. My cousin has the breeza and swears by it, She still lives with my aunt and uncle and even my uncle was showing it to me on FaceTime lol. He was very excited about it and was like "we can get you one of these if you stop breastfeeding!" 

Rq sounds like vacation was great. I commend both you and 2have for going on vacation so early. I'm definitely not brave enough for that. I hope that the move goes smoothly for you guys. 

Fern, he is adorable! Was a sweet squishy face! I'm with you on twins being scary lol. I know that we will only do one embryo when it's time for another baby.

Rebecca that's great your still pumping, is nursing just too overwhelming? I would imagine working full time with three kids would make it difficult! That awesome you have stuck with the pumping!

Afm, we are doing great! Just bought plane tickets to go see our families in may, I'm a little nervous about the plane ride with Gage, but at least it's only a two hour flight and I will only be going to families houses so not too stressful. I'm pretty certain that I'll only see my baby to feed him lol! Everyone is so excited to meet him! We are still breastfeeding, and it seems to be working for us. Gage has been in six month clothes for a couple of weeks now. He is a pretty big boy! He won't get weighed again until his four month check up but I'm always curious how big he has gotten! He is starting to laugh a little which is adorable 
I feel like I spend a lot of time during my day trying to make him laugh because once I start playing with him it is very hard to start! He is a stinker, and does this shy face sometimes, between his bashful face, and his sweet dimples and blue eyes, I think I'm going to be in trouble with this charmer! My MIL came to visit and me and dh went out on our first date since he was born. I have a bunch of milk frozen, but just pumped her fresh bottles to have for that night. It was such a nice feeling to be able to eat without someone on my boob ha! He takes a bottle like a champ, he can wolf down 4 or 5 ozs like it's nothing. Makes me a bit jealous as he takes so long to nurse! I really feel like I will start to pump and give him bottles of BM at 7 months or so and start to wean him from nursing. I have heard that night nursing is the hardest to wean from so I figured i can start with just daytime and then once we get that down we can work on night time. My goal is for him to be exclusive on BM until a year. He has found a love for the moby wrap thank you Jesus! I tried a new way to wear him and he is just so happy and content in it. It makes going out and running errands so much easier. I also can get quite a bit more done around the house. I think that's really it for us! Can't think of much more to update about. Oh, we are looking to do an FET next august. That would put Gage at almost 2 1/2. Ok, heading back to bed, as the boob monster just finished eating! I'll post his 3 month pictures I took on Monday. 3 months sure has flown! Bittersweet really, I love to watch him grow but sad it's going so fast!


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## froggyfrog




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## froggyfrog

Oh yeah, RQ I just order Gage a sit me up, I googled it after I read your post and it definitely seems like something he would enjoy! I'm very excited to get it!


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## rebecca822

Wow so much to read! 

2have, I actually did think about taking just 1 twin with me on errands and outings but the thought is still very overwhelming. They like to be held all day and I worry the baby will be fussy it's just so much easier to stay home! I think when the warmer weather comes our way it'll be much easier to get out considering we won't need all the layers and blankets and hats. 

Froggy- Gage is a deliciously handsome boy. Can't believe how big he is already. Wow I can't imagine even considering an FET at the moment.

Fern I think after being through early labor and preemies I'm terrified of twins. But I agree that the risk of no implantation is a reason to transfer two. 

We'll probably think about FET when the twins are 2 and we will only transfer 1 :)

I also googled the Sit Me Up and it looks awesome!! I was hoping someone was going to offer to buy me a baby present and I would ask for that but alas no one offered!

baby breeza makes a bottle warmer that I wanted to purchase, anyone know anything about that?


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## froggyfrog

Rebecca the only reason we discussed FET was because we talked about birth control and whether or not to use it, and how long we would use it for. It was advised we not get pregnant for a year to let cs scars heal properly. I haven't heard anything about the brezza bottle warmer, but I bought the kiinde kozii warmer and really like it. You can thaw BM bags in the warmer, which def helps with preparing frozen milk fast, and can also be used to thaw frozen baby food later. I'm planning on making all of Gage's food myself so that I can add in what I want and it won't have so many preservatives. 

We went shopping today, all three of us. We walked all around the mall and went a few other places. Gage did great and we had such a fun day! He napped in the moby in the mall and I fed him in the car before we left to go to the next place. It was so nice to get out and walk around and have a little retail therapy!


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## 2have4kids

Gage is such a big boy already! And what a cutester! We have bumbos that we've been using to allow the twins to join us for dinner. If we're eating around the island or at the dining room table we'll just put them in bumbos on the island or table. Also works great when I'm making them bottles or preparing dinner. The sit me ups look quite fancy and fun, kind of like the exerscaucer just without the jumping & so many activities.

Have you guys seen Binxy Baby? This came up in a fabulousfriday twins/triplets FB post. Someone had their twins out shopping hanging out in twin hammocks in the cart:haha: 

Rebecca I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how calm your babies are when you get them outside. I've been taking Mack & a baby now for almost daily walks just to get them to stop fussing or get them to sleep. The fresh cool air does them wonders but always have a binky or bottle on hand just in case.

Well if some of you do try FET's I'll be stalking your journeys! How exciting :dance: I was the first in my baby & birth class of 13 couples to get pregnant and now there are a few ladies just starting their second pregnancies. I love love love the fact that my girls will be so close in developmental steps and will hopefully play well together too (can't wait for that day!)

Ok ladies, I cracked up this morning. I came out of the Italian market today with MacKinley and Piper in my double tandem stroller and this young guy in a car with his dog rolls down his window and yells at us "SO ADORABLE!" :rofl: Oh how times change!


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## rebecca822

Ugh my babysitter just told me she is leaving us in 4 weeks. I feel so lost!!
I am not sure if I should leave my job and care for the twins myself or try to find someone new. It's very hard to find good live-in help. My job pays decently but after all the taxes and paying the nanny I don't walk away with much more than $200 a week. I just worry I'll go insane with watching babies all day. Any advice on what to do?


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## froggyfrog

How stressful Rebecca! That really is only a choice you can make. Honestly being a sahm is a lot harder than I thought because I'm a pretty social person and enjoy going and doing things, and I find it hard with Gage hating his car seat these days to go anywhere. I get very lonely. I'm sure it would be completely different if we lived closer to friends and family who could pop in for day visits, but my dh works at a minimum 50 hours a week and that's only if he is off on weekends, so I'm home by myself ALOT! I know it will get better as he gets older and he wont always scream In his seat, but I just can't stand to hear him cry so hard so am picky about getting out to make sure his screaming isn't for nothing. Today we are going to attempt a story time for babies at the library, but it's right during the time Gage likes to nap, so we will see what happens! 

If you are only bringing home 200 a week, then it's really not beneficial financially for you to work right now. You could make that up in other areas if you had to, like budget different for groceries, or downgrade your cable plan. You probably spend some of that in gas each week too. What does your dd1 do? Is she in pre-k?


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## froggyfrog

2have the sit me up seemed a bit pricey for a toy that doesnt make noises or vibrate lol! I actually found mine on sale for 25 online at target! They are 40 everywhere else. Gage would hate the hammock! He is too nosy( he comes by that honestly!) and has to look around. He has to be held or worn while we are in public. He will do good in his stroller for a bit for dh while I shop or whatever we are doing, but that's because someone is constantly talking and playing with him, which I can't do very well if I'm out for errands. How funny that guy yelling at you!


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## rebecca822

Froggy- $200 seems like little but that's $800 a month which is &#8532; our grocery budget. It's a lot of money to lose out on. We can't cut any expenses, we pretty much did that when the twins were born. I had cleaning help once a week which we stopped with. Dd 1 is in pre-k this year and next year she will be in kindergarten. We can't send to public schools because the public school in our district is very bad and we don't feel safe sending her there so we're forced to spend the money on private school. 
I think it will be really hard for me socially to stay home because I won't want to take 2 babies with me everywhere. I'm also a very social person and I'm sure I'd go stir crazy. 
I also found the $25 sit me up from target! We just put it together yesterday. The babies are still a bit too lot for it as their heads are too wobbly.


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## Rq120

Hi ladies!

I almost forgot to check in here because we have been SO BUSY!! We did all the improvements/cleaning needed in time to put the house on the market Monday (May 1st). We have had one showing already and our realtor took about 18 agents on a walk-through on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it was been SUPER rainy here and I think it is stopping some people from getting out and looking. 

DH, sister-in-law, babies, and I are all flying to Florida tomorrow. DH and I are looking at 20+ houses on Saturday and Sunday. I'm flying back Monday morning and DH will stay to visit his family until Wednesday. The babies second trip in 4 months! Good thing it's free for them to fly (except for taxes). I'm so excited about looking for houses. There are several good options so I have a good feeling we might be putting an offer in this weekend. Eek!

Froggy - Love your pic. Gage is too cute. How did you like the Sit me up? My babies love them. We also bought them from Target for $25. When we eat dinner we prop them up on the table and they chill with us. Lately I have been facing them towards each other in their seats and the twins "talk" to each other and sometimes laugh at each other. It's the most adorable thing.

Rebecca - I'm happy to hear that your twins are gaining nicely. It was a slow start for them but it seems they are doing well now. 
Tough to weigh in on your nanny situation. DH and I were looking at a similar situation. He would only bring a little home after daycare and for us it wasn't worth it. It was too much to imagine trying to work all day, get up with them at night, and then try to get them ready in the morning before work while trying to get ourselves ready. I make about 4 times as much as DH so we decided to have him stay at home. He is an AMAZING dad. He used to be a camp counselor for special needs kids and his parents fostered 50 kids in their home over the years so DH is a natural and it fits him well. I personally wouldn't adapt well to being a SAHM. 

2have - The wedding was on an island just outside of Cancun called Isla Mujeres. It's a 15 mins ferry ride from Cancun and very beautiful. I'm sure your vacation will go well. Our twins did great. 
We don't have the baby brezza. I thought about it but then dismissed it. Mainly because our twins eat cold formula. It works awesome at night because we make up bottles before bed and when they wake up we grab one from the fridge and pop it into their mouth. We tried warming the formula up at one time but they didn't seem to like it as much. Ended up working out in our favor because we mix up a bunch once a day and save a lot of time not warming it up.

Fern - how are you and hubby doing?

Claire and Oliver are doing great. They are all smiles in the morning and are starting to laugh a lot. Claire sometimes just stares at our dog and laughs at her. Ollie loves music and "sings" along. So cute!. 
They have their 4 month appointment May 15th. I'll have to update you on their weights then. We haven't weighed them, but I'm interested to see what Claire weighs. She is built like a brick house. 
I still haven't heard about my job. Hopefully next week. I hate not knowing what is going to happen and if I need to start looking for a job in Florida. 
You ladies are scaring me with your FET talk. LOL. DH and I couldn't imagine another kid right now. We have been talking and I think we are done. We have a boy and a girl and I am 35. But we have a frozen so we could always change our minds.


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## froggyfrog

RQ what airline do you use? And what is the seating arrangement while you fly? I'm a bit nervous about our trip next month, I hope Gage does well, any pointers?


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## Fern81

Hi everyone, sorry that I've been so bad on updating, things have been quite busy. G is doing really well, he is such a chunky boy. We had a visit from the nurse today for his vaccines & an exam, he weighs 7,5 kg already. And he has such a broad chest, I struggle to button/zip up his 3-6 month clothes all the way to the top. So I bought him a few 6-12 month winter tops. They are a bit big but seem to fit more comfortably. He is sitting up so well in his bumbo, great head control, laughs and squeals a lot when he plays on his activity mat. I hate that I have to work, it feels like I don't do enough activities with him. But oh well we need the money.

Rebecca I was in a similar situation; one day my nanny just stopped coming to work without any prior notice. I had to teach a class with G on my lap!! We had to get a new nanny. I don't make a lot of money especially after childcare is paid; but we can't do without it.

Love to read everyone's updates. Pics please!!


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## rebecca822

Rq it's so awesome that DH can be a SAHD that's really lucky for you guys!! Wow can't believe your twins are willing to take cold bottles! Lucky you! The twins wake up in middle of the night to eat and we take the cold pumped milk from the fridge and warm it up In Hot water, it's a pain in the butt. Then the babies start screaming because they're so impatient and they become so awake by the time they start to eat. It's not a great situation! 
Fern I can't believe how big baby G is, that's awesome! Great job on chunking him up!


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## Rq120

Well the weekend in Florida was a success. We found our dream home and we have an accepted offer. We close/move June 16. So 38 days left in Indiana. We are so blessed we found something. Our realtor took us to see 13 houses on Saturday and 3 on sunday. 

Froggy - we book the babies as lap babies and they are free except for taxes. You can't have more than one lap baby in the same row so DH and I sit in isle seats across from each other. The only bad thing about an isle seat is if the other passengers need to use the restroom. Then you have to stand up with the baby and it's awkward. We gate checked our car seats and our snap and go stroller (for free). When we board we wear the babies in a carrier. During our trip to Mexico they slept sitting up against our chests in the carrier most of the way. Some people say to feed them during take off/landing but we could never work out that timing and they did ok. A pacifier helps. Also, babies are allowed a diaper bag free of charge as a carry on. It actually wasn't bad to travel at all. Good luck!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies just popping in to wish you all a happy Mother's Day. It's that time of year here in Canada so we're off to lunch with grandma in the Rocky Mountains tomorrow. The twins first trip out to the mountains! MacKinley was quite small last time we went so I doubt she'd remember it. Congrats to you gorgeous women for becoming mothers this year. Enjoy & give yourselves a pat on the back! xx


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## Fern81

Happy mother's day lovely ladies! Hope you all have a very special day xx


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## froggyfrog

Happy Mother's Day ladies!


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## Rq120

Just thought I would drop in and say hi. I'm sure we are all busy.

Claire and Oliver went for their 4 month check up on May 15. They are doing really well and the doctor was really happy. Claire weighed a few oz shy of 16lbs and Oliver weighed 3lbs less!! Their heads measured the same and they were the same height. LOL. Claire is in the 80th percentile across the board (weight, height, and head) so she is just a big girl and Oliver is just a small boy.

We are getting closer to our cross country move. Just two weeks from today and we will be flying to our new home. Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. I will try to stop in and say hi, but its going to get very busy for me here soon.

Hope you are all doing well.


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## elliecain

Good news about the twins RQ. 
Finlo is doing very well too. At 15 weeks (11 adjusted), he's now 12lb 6oz. He's made such an incredible recovery after everything he went through. Still exclusively breastfeeding and both loving it!
I hope you are all doing well.


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## Fern81

Good to hear you are doing well ladies.
Life is hectic here but I still only work 3-4 days a week and love that I have the extra time with my son. He is eating solids 2x a day now (small snacks), weighs 8kg and is the joy of my life. He is a placid baby and will not try to roll over etc on his own but he does it if I help & encourage him a lot. He loves looking around and trying to communicate though. I hope he is an intelligent boy, it will just make his life easier (coming from a teacher!). 
We are seeing the fertility specialist on 20 June to discuss FET in September-ish. Excited!


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## froggyfrog

Wow fern!! That's exciting about the FET! 

Good luck with your move RQ, I hope it all goes smoothly!

Ellie glad you two are doing well and that breastfeeding is going so great! I have found that it can be very challenging some days, but so very worth sticking it out.

I recently had a major dip in my supply!! Was very scary and so glad I had frozen milk. Gage was crying at my breast and I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I tried to just give him a bottle of frozen milk and pump, and I only got one oz out of both sides!!! I was getting much more before. I I spent two whole days just nursing and pumping and drinking milk maid tea along with foods to boost supply. I already eat oats every morning to maintain supply but added in an extra bowl in the afternoon. I finally have got my supply back up. I'm still pumping more often so that hopefully I can maintain where I am at. I know that if I had to give him formula I could and actually have six cans for back up just in case, but I have my heart set on bfing for one year at least and would be very sad if I couldn't do it. Gage had his 4 month check up and his weight percentile dropped and he is only 14LBS 9ozs, I asked his dr if I should be concerned, and she said no because is looks like all of his calories went to his length. He grew 3 inches in two months. I have started him on oatmeal cereal at night, and will start him on a bowl in the morning as well next week when we get back from Texas. Then I will start to introduce puréed foods. I'm very excited about that!! He can roll from back to front and front to back, but most of the time stops on his side lol, he still loves his bath, and I have started putting him in his exersaucer and he just started to get that it bounces with him, so he is loving it! He loves the dogs and just sits and stares at them! When I need him to be entertained for a few minutes I will call the dogs in and make them sit down in eyes view on Gage and he will be content for a min just staring at them haha. His sleep is still crap during the day, and his nights have regressed. His dr suggested the merlins magic sleep suit, so I ordered one for him. It doesn't really seem to help him stay asleep, but it does help him not jump and wake himself when I lay him down. Which means he will actually nap by himself now(most of the time they are short 30 minute naps but he has had a few that lasted a couple of hours) which lets me be baby free more often. He has added in two extra wake up during the night, the first one I can usually just rock him back to sleep and he is fine, but the second added in wake up in to eat. So we are at three night feedings again. Which I expected from the four month regression and it could be way worse. It was worse before the sleep suit because no matter how many times I would lay him down he would wake right back up. Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling about his Sleep ha. Other than that we are all doing great. I do wish that I knew anyone, even just one person around me. I'm so lonely all of the time. The only time I get out is to go grocery shopping or clothes shopping. So I'm really looking forward to my trip to Texas to get to socialize a bit!


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## froggyfrog




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## 2have4kids

Froggy very sweet pic! I'm glad the bf-ing is going so well for you and ellie. Well RQ for two girls that started out exactly the same weight we now have one that's bigger too. Piper weighs 15.4 and Teagan's at 14.5 pounds. Teagan is a wee bit shorter too. 3 pounds is quite a difference but as ling as their healthy that's the main thing. I'm on a few different twin fb groups anc there are plenty of teins of all different heights & sizes. Just goes to show you that we're all very different!
Fern that's very exciting news about the fs in Sept. I wish you good luck with your next round.

The twins don't seem to kerp a certain nap time like MacKinley did as a baby. It kills me because their up for a while and then dosn for .5 hour-44 min. I need all three to go down for 2-3 hours so that I csn rest. I'm feeling particularly tired today. The girls are both rolling from back to front and back again. They're all over the living room floor as soon as I walk out. We brought the exerscaucer from grandmas house and they love it. Next up we'll get the jolly jumper out. The only thing about these toys and the baby swing is MacKinley likes to play in them too. The exerscaucer can accommodate but I think she'd bend the frame on the jolly jumper. We'll maybe put her teddy flippity flop in it and get him jumping, see if that will do.


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## Fern81

Hi all 
So happy to see you are all doing well!
Well my news: I'm currently on week 2 of bcp. When AF shows, I need to wait 1month or however long it takes for a natural cycle, then I'm doing FET. Told the dr I'm definitely only planning on a single embryo transfer, the other embryo will be donated to scientific research. My husband gets no say in the matter because.... I asked for a divorce today. 
He is extremely aggressive and a total asshole who spends no time with his kid. The "great dad" turned out to be a sham.


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## 2have4kids

Fern81 said:


> Hi all
> So happy to see you are all doing well!
> Well my news: I'm currently on week 2 of bcp. When AF shows, I need to wait 1month or however long it takes for a natural cycle, then I'm doing FET. Told the dr I'm definitely only planning on a single embryo transfer, the other embryo will be donated to scientific research. My husband gets no say in the matter because.... I asked for a divorce today.
> He is extremely aggressive and a total asshole who spends no time with his kid. The "great dad" turned out to be a sham.

Fern I wish you the best of luck with your fet and divorce. People don't change do they? It's so disheartening to see that glimmer of hope that they'll try because after all, you're not asking for much are you? Just stay focussed on the positive, with everything you write I don't doubt that this will come naturally for you! And dumping the angry, aggressive dead weight will be uplifting and free you up to have better people enter your life.

Edit: just be careful about your fet, what if your husband opposes you using the embryo? Even in Czech republic they wouldn't give me my donor emby fet without my husband signing the paperwork and giving a copy of his passport (he didn't even come for the trip). Some clinics still require that you be married and both parties consenting. If this is what you want make sure you get your ducks in a row with your clinic so your husband doesn't mess things up for you xx


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## Rq120

Hi ladies! Hope everyone is well. 

We made it to Florida and we are in our new home. It has been absolutely beautiful here the past few days and I got to enjoy my new pool last night. Its going to take a while to get settled but we will get there. 

Claire and Oliver are doing great. They are both rolling over and starting to sit up on their own. They can't get in the sitting positon on their own but if you get them there they are maintain for a min or more. They are learning to try out the tripod position. With support they can sit up great. We got them highchairs (which they LOVE) this week after we moved and just started some rice cereal today. We tried before but they just were not ready. The tongue thrust reflex was there and no interest. Today they both did good and we are going to work on introducing them to the concept of food.

Claire's two bottom teeth ruptured through this past weekend and she did great. Not too much fussiness. We were lucky that we didn't experience much of a 5 month sleep regression. They sometimes can make a whole night (8pm to 6:30am) without a peep and other nights they wake us up a time to two and we have to go in their room and soothe them. Claire is making a lot of different sounds right now, but Oliver isn't experimenting with sounds that much. He is more quiet or crying type. Claire is THE BEST baby. She only cries when she is hungry or tired. However, she routinely fights sleep! Other than that she is an absolute pleasure. So happy and smiling all the time. Oliver is a little bit more needy but still a great baby. We thank god everyday for our many blessings!

Fern, best of luck with you FET. I couldn't imagine going for another baby right now but I have my hands full with two. It is so much fun watching them grow that I might be tempted to have another in the future. Sorry to hear about hubby but I think you might be better off. It has been a rough go from the sounds of it for a while.


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## froggyfrog

Fern I'm excited to follow your FET journey!!! Sorry about the divorce but as the others have said, it's probably for the best. I'm curious how the laws there are for the FET? Like 2have said, here in the US our embryos are both of our property and can only be used if both sign the proper paperwork. 

Glad the move went well and the babies are doing so good rq! 

- Gage will be five months old tomorrow! The time flys! He loves his jumparoo, we got the rainforest one that makes monkey and elephant noises and he goes crazy in that thing. He is trying his hardest to scoot somewhere when he is on his tummy, but he hasn't figured it out yet and it makes him so mad lol. He can roll from back to belly and belly to back but mostly just hangs out side to side just enough to grab whatever toy is in reach. His sleeping went to complete crap right at four months and I bought him the merlins magic sleep suit. It definitely helped but his sleep still sucked! I decided to go ahead and try without the suit again since he can't hardly move in it and he is liking to roll from side to side in his sleep, and I'm hoping I'm not jinxing myself right now but the last two nights have been incredible! He still wakes to eat but goes right back to sleep! He is wearing 9 months clothes and I'm about to put him in size four diapers because he is a monster baby! He took his first airplane ride at the beginning of the month and did really really good both going to Texas and coming back. My family LOVED him and most of his days were spent being passed around from person to person so he was exhausted every night and slept amazing while we were there. I had weaned him from the breast shield which we used because his tongue tie had caused his latch to make my nipples bleed and crack. He was completely weaned by the end of may but I still couldn't get his latch right. He ended up causing me excruciating pain and I would just holler and cry when he would get on to bf. so I sadly had to stop nursing him. I cried. He still roots for my boob. He gets bottles of breast milk but I have a hard time keeping up with him with just pumping so he get formula too. I will just combi feed him for as long as I can. We have been doing it for about two weeks now and so far it's going good. I did get my first af, and it sucks. It has been 14 months without one. It also caused a dip in my supply, but it's on it's way back up. Overall he is just the happiest funniest baby. He is constantly looking around for something that makes him laugh. Whether it be us or the dogs or even himself jumping around, he is a very silly boy and I think he will be a clown! He has been on oatmeal cereal and rice cereal for a month now and I have been introducing different purées. He has had blueberries, peaches, apples, bananas, and peas.


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## Rq120

Froggy - how sweet. Gage sounds like a fun baby and what a big boy! Claire is like that. She is a big girl, but Oliver is still a tiny boy.

We were going to do solids at 4.5 months because the doc said we could introduce rice cereal. Oliver was ready, but Claire wasn't. Then we got busy with the move so we didn't attempt very much. Earlier this week we did cereal again and they are both ready now. Oliver was actually grabbing the spoon and feeding himself. It was the cutest. I read up and I think we are going to skip cereal and start pureed foods. Maybe start with a banana today and see how they do. I read that babies probable don't prefer the bland cereal and it is ok to start with pureed foods. I think that is Claire's problem. She always gets this look like "what nasty pasty stuff are you putting in my mouth". But if someone feeds her from their plate like mashed potatoes on a finger she doesn't get that same look.

Hubby and I are enjoying Florida. I was able to work from home with my current job. How lucky is that!! It is a slight adjustment, but honestly not much different than being in the office. I'm good at staying busy and keeping on task so that isn't a challenge. I also have a dedicated room in the house as an office so that helps too. And what's not to love about taking a lunch break and seeing my husband and kissing two babies! I have a beautiful pool and palm tree view out of my window. It is an absolute beautiful morning here today and I'm enjoying all the sunshine. I used to work in a cubicle in the office with no natural sunlight so its an upgrade :)


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## froggyfrog

Life sounds so perfect for you right now rq!! I'm so glad that everything is working out in your favor!! Over the weekend I made a ton of purÃ©es to freeze so that it takes less time to prepare them. I just boiled things that needs boiling and threw them in the blender with a little water and poured them into ice cube trays. Each cube is 1oz so I can give him two cubes each feeding. I also like that I can mix any two together to make my own flavors for him. I just popped out the food cubes and labeled them in bags


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## froggyfrog




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## Rq120

Froggy, that is what I plan to do. Getting store bought stuff is expensive and I don't like the thought of additives. It is easy to make at home so I will prepare some next month. I have to travel back to Indiana for work for a week (yuck!) so I will have to plan around that. Gage is so cute and I love his dark hair. Oliver is still bald and I wonder when he is going to get hair!


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## Fern81

Hi ladies I thought I'd posted a long post on the weekend but guess it didn't go through.

So glad to hear everyone's doing well and that all the babies are thriving. They're all getting so big! Rolling and eating and teething. G is just munching everything. I even made him spinach puree which he will try after I'm done with our 3 day kale and carrot puree test run (which is going great). He can sit up a bit and is getting better at rolling.

So far we're definitely going forward with the FET (don't want to talk about DH situation if you don't mind) and I'm excited but TERRIFIED at the same time. If my son has a sibling I want them to be close together in age and get the baby stuff over and done. But a small part of my mind feels like I'll be relieved if the FET doesn't work lol. The plan is:
10 more bc pills, then AF, then wait for 1 normal cycle. As soon as AF shows up again, I need to phone in day 1 and start with the meds to do FET that cycle. Sh*t!! So it could be anywhere from 6 weeks from now!


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## 2have4kids

Fern, so glad to hear you figured out a way to get what you want! I hope you succeed in your fet. Siblings are nothing less than wonderful. Stalking!


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## Rq120

That's exciting Fern. Best of luck to you. 

This week I made a bunch of purees. Plum, sweet potato, pea, carrot, apples. I put them in ice cube trays and froze them. DH is feeding them once per day. We will try to work up to 2 times per day. Today Oliver was on his knees and hands. That boy will be crawling soon! So crazy. Claire isn't that mobile but she can sit on her own now.


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## rebecca822

Hello everyone!

I apologize in advance for not commenting on each your posts. I have read and enjoyed hearing your updates with all the adorable kiddos. It's amazing that last year at this time we were all in the first trimester of pregnancy and here we are talking about our 4-6 mi th old kids!

So the twins are doing very well. Tomorrow (Friday, July 7) they will be 7 months! Due to their early arrival they are about 2.5 months behind where they should be for 7 month olds but eventually they will catch up. They are rolling both ways. Alisa does quite well with lifting her head, while Joe is rather weaker and can't hold up his head as long.
They're are still taking bottles only of pumped breast milk and I supplement 1 bottle at night and 1 in the morning of formula as I am a bit short on my supply. We are not eating solids yet, they are not nearly strong enough to sit in a high chair and they are very uninterested in food.
Last week they started sleeping through the night! They go in for the night about 7pm and usually go until 6:30am. It has been a wonderful week :)
As of August I will be leaving my job to stay home with them all day. I feel sad and guilty not spending more time with them so we made the decision last week that I will be a SAHM! I'm excited and nervous but I think it will be great for all of us.
 



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## Rq120

Woo Hoo Rebecca. Glad you get to stay at home and you got that all worked out! Best of luck to you. Thank you for sharing a pic of your lovely cuties! SOOO adorable! They look so alike!! Claire and Oliver are so different so it is cute that yours look more like twins.

We are doing well here. Still getting situated in Florida but we are getting there. Only a few more boxes left in the house.  
I found a photographer here and we are going to do 6 month photos (a little late) in a few weeks. I'm excited. It is so amazing how fast they change!
Babies are eating more solids and getting more mobile. Oliver actually crawled a few feet last week but hasn't crawled since. They are getting up on their hands and knees all the time. DH just bought a baby fence the other day. I think we will need it sooner rather than later. 

Hope you are all doing well!


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## Fern81

Hi everyone 

Rebecca how are you enjoying being a SAHM so far? I hope you make lots of lovely memories with your babies! They are so cute! 

Rq please share your pics when you've had them done! Glad you're done moving and that you are settling in nicely. Must have been difficult with two babies.

Hi everyone else! 

Time is just flying by, it's crazy! G rolled from back to front by himself today. Now he can finally roll all the way around, sit, and he LOVES standing up. His legs are so strong. He is absolutely gorgeous :). Eating everything in sight. We had a huge struggle with milk for a few weeks (he refused his milk and I struggled to get fluids into him, little monster!) But that's better now phew. He was blessed and annointed at church this past Sunday and we had a nice gathering of family & friends at our house afterwards. Growing up wayyy too fast imo! 

As for the FET- no idea when it's going to happen. I have to have one normal pp cycle and period before we can start the process. I'm tracking my temps etc on fertility friend but despite being off bcp since end of June, I still haven't ovulated it seems. I haven't had a period since giving birth so I have no idea how long this is going to take. Oh well.


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## froggyfrog

How odd your period hasn't started yet fern! I hope it starts soon so you can go through with your FET. How is the divorce going? G sounds like he is doing well!!!

Glad your able to stay home now Rebecca! How is it going? 

Afm, Gage is doing great! Such a big boy at 19 lbs 12 1/2 ozs and 28inches long! He is around 90th percentile all across the chart. He sleeps in his crib in his own room now and still has some hard nights, but for the most part he does really well. Our biggest challenge right now is keeping him from leaking pee at night. He sits for a good while and then will lose balance. He will roll all the way across the room to get something he wants, and can turn 360 degrees while on his belly to change direction. Crawling will be coming soon! He gets solids twice a day now, at lunch and dinner. Still not interested in breakfast but that's ok. He loves to swim!! All in all he is such a joy!! He is definately the light of my life!!


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## froggyfrog




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## Rq120

Oh, Froggy he is so cute. I just love this age! 

Fern/Froggy, glad to hear the babies are doing so great. Fern, thanks for the update on the FET. I was wondering about you and where you were in that process. 

Today we got a video of Oliver crawling. He is quite mobile now! Still not all that coordinated but he can get where he wants to go. Claire is more of a scooter now. She doesn't care to move around as much as baby boy. Yesterday she was pushing backwards all around the room on her back. It was too funny!

We are all doing great. I love working from home. I have a great office set up so I get lots of work done and then I can take breaks and see my babies/hubby all day. It just makes the work day so much better.

Hope everyone is doing well.


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## Fern81

If anyone checks in - so glad all the babies are doing so good! It's crazy that they are so mobile already. Mine keeps getting stuck under the table or against the couch lol then he screams! We're having to babyproof already.

In other news, AF started yesterday so we're starting FET! I'm nervous as hell. I hope it works but at the same time I'm so scared to have 2 babies.


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## elliecain

Hi girls. It's lovely to read updates on our clever babies!
Finlo is sitting for short periods and trying hard to crawl but not quite there yet. He's just starting solids and seems to like it, but still nursing full time round the clock too!
He loves his swimming lessons and we are taking him to Spain in a couple of weeks <3

In other news, my period returned 2 weeks ago and we are soon going to start trying for another baby. If no joy by December, we are going to do another round of IVF. I'm excited to go again and it feels much less stressful now because I have Finlo so I don't feel the same level of desperation.
 



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## Rq120

Wow Ellie and Fern. Many blessings with the FET and trying for your second baby. I couldn't imagine trying for another right now, but I'm sure my perspective is different with twins. LOL

Finlo is super cute! 

We are doing well. I would say we are pretty much settled in our new home but the garage still needs some work. 
Claire and Oliver are doing great. Claire started crawling a few weeks after Oliver. Oliver is still a wild thing. We have a baby gate set up in the living room so they don't topple over and hit their head on the tile floor. But Oliver makes a break for it whenever he can and explores the house. He can really book it, and you hear his little hands slapping on the tile as he makes his way through the rooms and down the hallway. It just melts my heart when they crawl to me. Oliver will actually pull himself up on my legs and squeal for me to pick him up. 
I would love to take them outside more than I do. However it is very hot here right now and there are a lot of fire ants. I don't want them crawling outside and get a painful ant bite. We do get in the pool and of course they love that. 

A bit of an update for me. My endo is what caused my infertility. It was been way better since the pregnancy but I noticed it was (slowly) coming back since birth. I found a really great specialist 2 hours away from me and I'm finally getting the treatment I need. I have surgery scheduled for next month. 
Also, my boss originally told me that while I can work from home our goal is to get me transferred to another department that is more suited to work from home. However, my boss has been so happy with my work that I am now safe at my current position. And furthermore, their is opportunity for a promotion. 

Here are some 7 month pics.
 



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## elliecain

So cuuuuute!


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## 2have4kids

Wow, so much news on this thread! I'm very excited for you ladies trying for seconds and RQ glad to hear you're getting treatment and a specialist is close to you. The pics are super cute ladies! Keep them coming! 

Our little ladies are battling some sort of Endo virus this week. Teagan is down over a pound and has been having both vomiting and diahrea. Piper just diahrea. I took Teagan into urgent care We'd night and they gave her some anti-nausea meds. They have sort of worked but I think it's been too long with this and took her to get reassessed this morning. They took samples from her and we'll know more tomorrow. I hate to see them sick. MacKinley is learning to talk. She can almost go down stairs without holding a rail. She can say the alphabet and count to 20 ( I sing the alphabet along with her lullabies and we use counting as a sleep aid tool for her). When she can't sleep we can hear her counting lol it's very cute!
Teagan is like your Oliver and can really motor along. She follows me everywhere crawling and strong arming it. She's the smaller twin and really light and strong. Piper is strong but she's almost 2 pounds heavier and not as quick. She's our flirty one, always with huge smiles and loads of chunters. I'm really exhausted every day though from all three. I can't wait for them to all play together and be running around. 

They say you never take as many photos with second children and we have made quit an effort to make that untrue for our family. Here are a few recent photos:


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## Fern81

So good to hear from all of you!! All the babies are so cute, beautiful and seem so extra special to me- maybe because of how specially they were made &#9825;&#9825;.

Rq your work situation sounds ideal. I must say while my work is also a bit stressful, it's nice to work from home and have the nanny to help.

So my transfer date is set for next Tuesday! I had no follies so no natural FET cycle; my endometrial layer is thickening though so we can go the same route as ladies with donor eggs and donor embies. We'll test on the 12th and 14th of Sept so I will keep you all updated. Xx


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## Fern81

Ellie- good luck ttc to you too! It would be great if we could be bump buddies again!


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## 2have4kids

Gl Fern!


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## rebecca822

So nice to read about all the kiddos, everyone seems to be doing so well!
Rq that's wonderful news about your job I hope you can get the promotion :)
Good luck fern on your transfer, wow I'm in awe of you!
I hope teagan and piper are feeling better, that can't be pleasant!
Joe and Alisa are great neither of them are crawling yet, but Alisa is close. They don't sit up yet either to we have PT scheduled for tomorrow and we'll see what they say. They babble and smile at everyone and are so adorable and fun. 
I'm really struggling to get them on a good meal schedule, any suggestions?! The doctor wants them on 3 solids per day, up until now we've managed to have 1 solid per day. When do I feed them their solids and I'm running out of ideas to feed them, they dislike many of the baby jars. Do you ladies still feed bottles/breast every 3 hours or is it 4 hours now?


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## froggyfrog

Hi ladies!!! So glad to hear from everyone!!! It's so crazy how big our babies are getting. Time is flying by! 

Rebecca, I just started Gage on his second solid per day. He eats lunch and dinner now. He is still pretty finicky about his bottles in the morning so I'm not sure he would be all that interested in solids for breakfast yet. For the most part he still drinks his bottle every three hours. The exception being night time and when he first wakes up. He sometimes doesn't finish a whole bottle until after lunch. I make his food, it's cheaper and pretty easy. I just purée it and freeze it in ice cube trays. That way I can make endless combinations for him. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest. He is not a fan of jar food. I bought some for a weekend trip thinking it would be easier, but he made faces after every bite. So indeed some cinnamon and mashed a little banana in it and warmed up it and he liked it much better. I'm starting to introduce him to be spices now. He has been getting cinnamon for awhile now. It's a natural anti inflammatory and I'm hoping it helps with his gums! 

Gage it sitting up really well, and army crawls now. He is starting to get on his knees a lot more lately. I can see his bottom two teeth right below his gums. Poor guy is miserable so I hope they poke through soon. He is starting to mock us now which is too cute. He will fake a cough if he hears you cough and then start laughing because he knows it's funny lol. Such a clown! He also started shaking his head from side to side if we do it. Good luck to you ladies ttcing!! I hope to see good news on here soon!!!


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## froggyfrog

Here is my cutie!


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## Fern81

I have a passenger on board! One blastocyst, same grading as baby G had. We'll see if it sticks! The other embie did thaw but was not great quality (12 cell morula) so seeing as we do NOT want to take the chance of having twins, we donated that embie for scientific research. I'm feeling so much calmer and better now that the transfer is done!! All the hormones are not helping my mood swings lol.

Food- my son has a bottle every 4 hrs, 4 bottles total, but he refuses to drink a lot of milk. Then 3 meals, 2 hours between bottles. He eats GREAT. I feed him about 20 different types of food including protein with at least 1 meal; purees, soups, some lumpier than others, etc. To make up for his lack of milk intake, I make sure he gets protein in his meals & I give him a multivit supplement with iron, also omega 3 oil for babies. If he is really bad in drinking his milk I'll give him water with his meals and add milk powder to his food.

Gage is a cutie! My G has no teeth and is not attempting to crawl. He does everything at his own pace but he does it well! So I'm not worried! And his fine hand-eye coordination is amazing. He can pick up small pieces of baby melting biscuits etc. So he is just fine :)

Can't believe I'm pupo again lol. 32 weeks after G's birth.


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## froggyfrog

Ahh!!! So exciting fern! Congrats on being pupo! 

So as of two days ago, we have a mobile baby! It's his own version of crawling, but boy is he quick!


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## Rq120

So much fun news on this board.

Fern - best of luck! so exciting.

Love the pics. They are all so cute!

2have - hoping your little ones start feeling better!! 

Rebecca - Claire and Oliver still eat a full bottle (7oz) about every 3-4 hours. It's usually close to 3 hours. But they go 12 hours without a bottle 7pm to 7am. We are feeding them twice daily but they still don't eat a whole bunch of purees. We have made their food from the beginning. Peas, peaches, plums, sweet potato, yogurt pureed with fruit, green beans, pears, etc. We freeze in ice cube trays as mentioned. 

AFM, we have a hurricane on the way...eek. Watching Irma closely to see where she is going to hit. It's a possibility she could come really close to us. I have a work trip planned that doesn't look like it is going to happen. Hubby is at the store right now stocking up on some non-perishables. Our local store is out of water, very low on soup, etc. Last time a hurricane hit this area they were out of power for 17 days. Prayers for everyone in the path and hopefully it will avoid land as much as possible.


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## Fern81

Ok so it's over. I got a heavy period at 7dpo. I'm guessing progesterone issues or idk, but we are now a one child family. Lost the embie. I cried my eyes out for hours in the early hours of the morning but then dh and I went to get our son from his crib to cuddle with us in bed, and forced ourselves to think of pros to having just one. Eg we'll have more money to spend on him, can take him on trips even overseas, spoil him rotten, send him to the best schools etc. If I don't try to look at the bright side I will be too horribly sad at losing my last embie and never having a sibling.
My son is clearly a miracle baby. And he is such a great lovie. I mean which other babies smile and laugh at you when they see you first thing in the morning after quietly sttn. He is always smiling. Just had a bad leap at 5 months for about 2 weeks and that was THAT. He'll never have a sibling but he can play with the neighbour's kids and hopefully not feel lonely.


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## rebecca822

Fern I'm so sorry! It's very dissapointing I'm sure. You are right to look at the bright side and enjoy your little baby G. There are many wonderful things about being an only child and I'm sure he will appreciate those things. 

Rq stay safe from the hurricane! My aunt living in Boca, FL evacuated with her family. They are driving towards Chicago.
My babies also go from 7pm-7am without a bottle and then every 3-4 hours during the day. 
So this week we tried a few more food items, yogurt, potato pudding, smashed chick peas, and new varieties of baby pures. Most of the food went over very well! Now I need to start preparing thick soups and freezing them


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## Fern81

Thanks rebecca. I admit I'm grieving and cry every morning when I wake up but really to try to appreciate every moment with ds even more now that I know I'll only have one baby.

Rq hope you are ok in the hurricane.


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## froggyfrog

Oh fern, I'm so sorry!! It's just not fair! I hope you can find some peace through everything. I'm sure your son will love being an only child, there certainly are perks! 

Rq, I hope you are all finding a safe place to go. This thing is scary!


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, Fern I'm so sorry to hear your bad news. I love your attitude though, looking to the positives is the only way to be. Our girls' Godmother only ever determinedly wanted one and it annoys her to no end when ppl ask her are you having another? Not all households need 2 kids! You can be that mom who has all the neighbourhood kids over, you can join different play groups, you'll have more time & energy to invest in his interests, you an certainly travel a whole lot easier. My friend took her son to Germany last spring and Iceland just these past two weeks. Let me tell you she takes full advantage, and being a single mother she's totally inspiring to me. Life is what you make of it and you will be fine because of your glass-half-full attitude. You still need to grieve though, you've had a huge loss. Allow yourself this and treat yourself kindly. Others may want to move on right away but this isn't something many might care so deeply about as a mother would. With each piece if clothing that no longer fits my girls I feel sooooo sad. And most of the time I'm saying to myself how ridiculous I am for feeling this way but it is the closure of a stage in our life. It's nothing compared to the loss you've just had but it still makes me tear up when I put an outgrown baby item in the sell box. Sending you hugs xx


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## Fern81

Thanks so much 2have. I know you all understand. I'm grieving much more than I thought I would and sometimes I feel guilty for it (I didn't have a miscarriage or SIDS etc which is so much worse :( ) but I just grieve for the life that never had a chance to progress. My embie didn't even have the opportunity to try and implant. I am giving myself time to grieve. I look in the mirror every morning and tell myself it will all be OK.
I don't know how I will cope with giving my son's newborn and 0-3mo clothes away, but my cousin needs them so I want to help her.
I'm really glad this FET is over, I was coming apart at the seams. Now to rebuild....


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## Rq120

So sorry Fern. I would prob react the same way. 

We made it through Hurricane Irma and we are safe and no damage to our home. A big palm tree fell down next door but it didn't hurt their house. We also kept power through it all so I am very thankful. 

Claire and Oliver are doing great as always. We started some whole solids this week (ie fruit cut up, puffs, etc). They don't eat very much at a time, but we are trying. They are BOTH cutting teeth this week and will have both their top teeth very soon. One of Claire's actually broke through already and Oliver's are right on the gum line. Oliver is clingy this week but Claire takes it all in stride.


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## 2have4kids

Rq so glad to hear everyone is ok. I gave money to someone's gofundme who's going over to cuba to help with clean up. They have no power so their food has all gone bad. They're sll awaiting the gov't to fix things as the people have very few resources to work with. I hope this isn't the start of annual monster hurricanes and forest fires. We've had serious snoke air quality all summer. BC is on fire and now the fires from the US has crept into Alberta and has burned our Waterton Parks area. Not good!

Teagan and Piper have been on solids for a month or so now and we'vemanaged to get their night feeds down to every 3-4 hours. Piper is pulling hetsrlf up in her crib and on furniture now getting ready to walk. Teagan still props hetself up with a hand when she sits and is a very very quick crawler. MacKinley's second birthday is at the end of the month and I've done the theme around a dress (sparkly red rose/tea party theme) she'll be wearing. This is by far, the most fun part of the year for me. I love doing the cakes up and decorating the house. This is my fav time and Christmas (even though the hubbie and I are strong Athiests :haha:). I'm making a 16" fondant cake with an 8" second layer (which I'll bring in to my Dad's nursing home for the staff) and some tea cup/pot sugar cookies. This is sort of the cake I'm attempting (see below with a 6" tea pot at the top) except a wider base to feed more people. I learned how to do fondant last year with her first birthday and just love the challenge of designing whatever I want and being able to make it too. I couldn't do anything super fancy last year because I couldn't stand long enough with the twin bump. The girls have a respite lady who's an expert cake maker who gave me a few extra tools and a better recipe this year so I'm grateful for the help. I don't get exciced that often but I'm so looking forward to celebrating this beautiful little cherub's life with our new (and old) friends and family!!


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## Rq120

Hi All. We haven't been very busy on here lately.

I hope you are doing ok Fern. Still thinking of you. I hope you are healing from your experience and giving your guy extra cuddles!

We are all doing good. I think I mentioned finding a specialist for my endometriosis. I had surgery 3 weeks ago and I'm doing quite nicely. She cut out all the endo spots like cancer. This supposedly helps 85%+ of women. My endo pain is just pressure after the surgery and I think that is from healing. The doc wanted to switch me from my Mirena IUD to birth control pills because some pills are better for symptom control. When she went to pull the IUD out, it was embedded in my uterus!!! This was 2 weeks after my endo surgery, so I had to go under anesthesia again yesterday to get the IUD removed and a D&C. "Surgery" twice in 3 weeks....goodness. But all is well, and I'm hoping this course of treatment will help me manage my endo for many years to come. 

Claire and Oliver are doing wonderful. They both got 4 teeth in their top gums. So they have 6 teeth now. Oliver's were a struggle, but his FINALLY popped through. They are crawling like crazy, getting into everything, and pulling themselves up on everything they can. Crazy babies!! We have our 9 month appointment later this month so I'm interested to see how much they have grown. Oliver is still long and skinny and Claire is my chunky butt. She has the biggest thighs. She is going to take after her mother. 
They love to be tickled on their belly. We "bite" them on their belly and they just squeal and laugh. Last night we got the cutest video where Oliver pushed Claire over with his head and then started to tickle her belly with his face. They were both laughing and laughing. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. Last week they were watching nursery songs on the tv (Little Baby Bum on youtube - we play them rarely but they LOVE them) and they sat back to front just cuddling and watching the tv together. They are going to be so close. I just love watching them grow up!

I'm gearing up for another week of travel back to Indy next week. This will be my second trip and I'm going to miss my babies so much. I have the most amazing husband who can juggle twins while I'm away. I can't even imagine, but his sister (who still lives with us - Thank God) helps him when she is off work. I guess it's the tradeoff of having a work from home job. 

Hope everyone is doing well.


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## 2have4kids

Rq your endo sounds absolutely horrific, I'm hlad to hear they can find a way to give you relief! My friend wound up not having kids and shortly after 50 having a hysterectomy thanks to her endo pain. It's a long term debilitating condition, my heart goes out to women dealing with it! Claire & Oliver sound like they're wonderful babies. Take as many photos & videos as you can possibly manage. This is, in my house mble experience, the sweet spot of babyhood. Just growing huge personalities, just before they walk & talk, this is it! And then they're more like toddlers. I'm savouring every minute. It's hard, hard, hard work right now but I'm almost in tears quite often knowing it's but a fleeting moment these precious few months. My two little ladies have just found their legs and voices. Table & couch hopping while screaming schrill at the top of their lungs. I was so worried it was a behavioural problem for not enough attention or something like that but after some research it's a completely typical 9 month developmental milestone. I had it really flipping easy with my first!!!!! She was a dream and still is. Her idea of finding her voice was standing up in her stroller bassinet at the park raising her arm and talking loudly to the squirrels. We had no idea what her chunters were all about but it was much easier to deal with than these shrill top-of-the-lung, nerve-wrecking screams. It's like we're trying out for a horror movie. Piper started it and Teagsn completely mimicked her. So we ensure they have binkies at ALL times :haha: 
We're still up at 11:30pm, 1:30am,,4:30am for feeds too but they're slowly getting better. We're off to Mexico for a little more than a week on the 21st. I'm hoping the weather calms down in the region. So many hurricanes recently! I hope everyone is doing well. I hope you're all enjoying the best 'baby' months right now as we're all going to soon cross many bridges with walking, growth spurts, and amazing first birthdays.


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## Rq120

OMG 2have, I absolutely am LOVING this age! Lots of cuddles and it's so fun watching them grow. I'm trying to enjoy every moment of it, as you caution. 

It's funny that your twins are screaming. I know exactly what you mean. Oliver did that a few months back and it was awful. Thankfully it was short lived. I hope he doesn't pick it up again.

I'm doing much better after my surgery. So far no pain post-op. I'm hoping the relief sticks around. I'm starting to pick up my activity now that I feel so good and focus on my health.

I hope your trip to Mexico is fun! DH and I are taking a cruise on Nov 30 and my in-laws will watch Claire and Oliver for a few days/nights. My twins are still sleeping through the night from 7pm to 7am and are relatively easy to take care of so my in-laws will get along just fine. It will be SO nice to have some alone/quality time with my hubby. 

Hope you all had a good Halloween. Here is a pic of Claire and Oliver.
 



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## elliecain

I&#8217;m so excited girls...! I&#8217;ve just had a consultation and scan at my clinic and am doing ivf again in a month! They have decided to do the short, antagonist protocol this time because my AMH (78.9) scares them. They have also said I can continue to breastfeed Finlo throughout!

He&#8217;s doing really well. 9 months old, 18lbs2oz, still breastfeeding and also eating solids like a champ. He&#8217;s crawling but also cruising and looks like he will walk soon. I&#8217;m totally in love. This is the absolute best age, I agree. I really know his personality now and he&#8217;s cheeky but also very loving. 

I go back to work on 5th Feb and I hope to be pregnant when I go back. I&#8217;ll be due start of October, so see the academic year through then off next year. I feel really hopeful about all this. My clinic are sure that our infertility is due to DH&#8217;s antibodies, which are now 90% and we will not conceive naturally. ICSI works for us though. 

Here&#8217;s my little cutie pie today. Second pic is in the waiting room at clinic.
 



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## rebecca822

Aww eli how exciting and those pictures are adorable!

Guys I know its been a while, the twins birthday is in under 2 weeks. Im starting to panic, maybe a little PTSD. I never really dealt with all the emotions of having preemies and having babies in the NICU. Im starting to feel those emotions a lot lately and its tough.

We wont be trying for another few years. Im not ready to go through all of it again. Its too much too soon. For now our little family of 5 is wonderful. We will try again in a few years because I do want to use more of our frozen embies.


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## 2have4kids

rebecca822 said:


> Aww eli how exciting and those pictures are adorable!
> 
> Guys I know it&#8217;s been a while, the twins birthday is in under 2 weeks. I&#8217;m starting to panic, maybe a little PTSD. I never really dealt with all the emotions of having preemies and having babies in the NICU. I&#8217;m starting to feel those emotions a lot lately and it&#8217;s tough.
> 
> We won&#8217;t be trying for another few years. I&#8217;m not ready to go through all of it again. It&#8217;s too much too soon. For now our little family of 5 is wonderful. We will try again in a few years because I do want to use more of our frozen embies.

Hey Rebecca, sorry to hear you're not feeling great. Take it one day at a time and do get your iron checked, the no. 1 reason contributing to ppd is anemia and most twin moms are extremely anemic the 1st year after birth. 

Thanks for posting pics ellie - he's a sweetheart! I'm already planning my ywin's birthday. We couldn't have a baby meet n greet because they were so small so we have extra people coming. Mudpie has some super cute 1st birthday dresses and we have a lady trying to break into the photography business who's going to do a free photo shoot for us. I made MacKinley's birthday cake which was waaay too complicated so I'm just going to do large cake smash cupcake birthday cakes and have cupcakes for guests to eat. And pizza - simple! I hope you all enjoy the firsts, soon they'll be looking more like toddlers than babies :cry:


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## Fern81

Belated happy birthday for your twinnies Rebecca!! Please post some birthday if you can :). I hope you are feeling better. You definitely had a lot to deal with and very little "free" time to work through it all.

It's nice to read all of your updates and to see you are all doing well.

Good luck with ttc Ellie!!

Baby G is doing SO well. He is such a cutie and my best friend. He is at a stage where he is very attached to me; he doesn't cuddle much but wants to be close to me all the time. H and I'm not really in any relationship (roommates) so I'm REALLY attached to G as well!! He has started to give hugs recently and kisses a while back. He stands and cruises furniture well and I think he'll be walking in a month or so. He listens really well to instructions and plays games well!! His first word was mamma and he also says hallo; he infrequently says ball and cat. He doesn't see his dad often so doesn't call him anything. 

Anyone have something special planned for the holidays and birthdays?
I'm going to my parents' tomorrow. G has a cute onesie that says "my first Christmas 2017". I'll try to post a pic of him! I had a few ideas for his first birthday but our house flooded and we have massive damage so idk how the restorations will be going by then. 

Happy holidays to you all! Sending you all lots of love and thinking back sentimentally to our babies' births around this time :).


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## Rq120

Goodness Fern! Sorry to hear about the flood. I hope all goes well and you can get the house restored ASAP.

Rebecca - have you looked into a NICU support group? I bet the hospital could put you in contact with one and it may help!

Ellie - best of luck with your upcoming cycle. I love your positive attitude and I hope it serves you well. It's exciting thinking of trying again. I think we are done with children, but we were blessed with twins and I'm 35. So I couldn't imagine trying right now with two little ones and I'll prob feel too old in a few years.

As for us, we are all doing great. Working at home is going well and I see my family throughout the day. I hear Claire laughing through the door as I type this. It is so fun to be this close their first year(s). 
Claire started walking about a week ago and take 3-4 steps at a time. She loves standing up on her own. Oliver is starting to stand on his own, so I'm sure he won't be too far behind her. However, Oliver is a CLIMBER! OMG, he can climb on anything. Sometimes he will be playing and we will look away and then he will be in a chair or sitting in his walker. We have tried putting everything up, but you can only do so much.
Claire is such a happy baby. Always smiling and laughing. Oliver is a bit more needy, but really he is a great baby. He is such a momma's boy. He loves to be in my lap but can't sit still. LOL. 
I don't know who said it, but I absolutely love this age. They are so much fun and so sweet. It's crazy how much they grow this first year. I want them to stay little forever.
For their first birthday we are having a small party with family only and doing a cake smash photo session. Then later in the month we will have our monthly family birthday party where we will celebrate with cake with the family. I thought about throwing a big party but its so close to Christmas and a family wedding (next weekend). They won't remember it anyway so we are keeping it low key and will enjoy the professional photos.

I hope you are all doing well. Enjoy those little ones while they are little. I just want to squeeze mine every second of every day....if only they would hold still LOL.


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## elliecain

Hey girls. I&#8217;ve got some amazing news!
I started down regging on 1/1/18 and was due to start stims this week after baseline scan yesterday. But when I&#8217;d still not had a withdrawal bleed on Monday, I did a pregnancy test and was absolutely flabbergasted to find out I&#8217;m pregnant. Naturally. I&#8217;m in shock. I had bloods done on Monday and it was 985, so looking good. Got repeat bloods today and then my clinic is offering me free pregnancy scans, starting at 7 weeks! I&#8217;m now 4+6 from LMP, so not too long to wait. 
I&#8217;ve been assured the meds are safe and one may actually have helped as it gave me a progesterone boost. I&#8217;ve stopped them and started cyclogest and prednisolone. It&#8217;s insane and so exciting!

Little one is currently due on 20th of September and there will be a 19 month gap. Finlo is so well. He sleeps through most nights, has 3 teeth and is walking!
 



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## 2have4kids

Ellie that&#8217;s amazing fabulous news! How great is that? You&#8217;re pregnancy is like our first, i was awaiting my cycle and it never came! Rainbow child. Happy healthy 9 months to you xx
RQ I can&#8217;t blame you for feeling done with ttc. Twins is a fix to that feeling for sure:haha: I&#8217;m glad you&#8217;re enjoying them, and you too Fern. They have such sweet little personalities at this age don&#8217;t they?
Fern I&#8217;m sorry to hear about your flood. After all you put up with while pregnant and now this? I&#8217;m glad you are so close to your little man, he&#8217;ll grow up to be like you my dear xx

Hi to everyone, happy new years and to a 2018 full of laughter and wonderful memories!
We hosted Teagan & Piper&#8217;s cake smash last weekend. It was a house full of people and it was a cold cold week. The theme was Winter ONEderland with mulled wine, hot chocolate & chilli. I have a friend who offered to do their cake smash photo shoot free of charge the week before the party. It turns out Piper, our chubby chicken, doesn&#8217;t like cake and Teagan my little tiny one has a serious sweet tooth. They were .2 ounce different weights at birth and now Piper is 22.8 while Teagan is 18.2 pounds. They loved the attention they got at the party and the professional photos were just adorable!
I&#8217;m back to work as of Monday and am very much enjoying being around adults all day! We are a group of specialised planning designers that got plucked up out of the planning dept and amalgamated into the regular corporate design group. The change was made while I was on mat leave. It&#8217;s great here, we used to work on these clunky pc&#8217;s and I came back to a beautiful Mac tower super fast slick machine. I sit with a few videographers in advertising so it&#8217;ll be fun watching them work. But yesterday my phone started to light up with texts, they laid off 1/4 of my previous department. We dodged quite a bullet by being transferred! And then my boss called me in to let me know that HR called him to get me to &#8216;manage&#8217; my holiday time. I went a month early on mat leave and had 90+ hours to use from 2016 and over 140 hours from 2017 accrued while I was away and now I&#8217;m renewing to another block of 140+ holiday hours for 2018. I feel so lucky. From being broke from all my ivf&#8217;s with no holiday time left thanks to needing some for medical leave and being childless while approaching my 40&#8217;s to bam! Having a beautiful gaggle of girls, my as$ saved at work by the stroke of luck, and now having to deal with too much holiday time. Well, it&#8217;s quite a reversal and so refreshing. Physically I&#8217;m drained and exhausted from my three beautiful girls but what a great feeling it is. I&#8217;ve got parenting issues with the dh, he&#8217;s extremely loose and what I consider neglectful but my babysitters are fantastic and I keep our household together the way I like it. I&#8217;ve found a co-parenting person helping dh and I work as a team to rear these beautiful girls. Attached some cake smash photos. I just can&#8217;t help feel so proud of my wee cherubs.
 



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## 2have4kids

MacKinley got a fairy princess dress for her 2nd birthday in Sept. I thought it was appropriate for the big sister dress for Teagan & Pipers&#8217; cake smash party. She&#8217;s a fantastic big sis, grabs their hands and leads them out of trouble, kisses their heads when they have melt downs, sings to them. Melts my heart!!
 



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## elliecain

All 3 looking beautiful! Lovely pictures. <3 <3 <3


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## froggyfrog

Holy crap Ellie!!!! Congrats!!! Amazing amazing news! 

Beautiful photos 2have!! It sounds like life is just about perfect!! So funny we are doing Winter Onederland also!!!

Fern Im so sorry about the flood. Baby G is so very lucky to have such a strong mommy! 

Afm, we are doing great. I joined a mother/baby group that we go to a couple of times a week. We also joined the ymca so that I can start working out and have a place to leave Gage. We just bought a new car, so thats always fun! Gages birthday party will be on Sunday and Im really excited. Think Im going a bit overboard but of well lol! It should be a lot of fun. We are having it in Texas and are leaving tomorrow to drive there. I really wanted all of my family to be able to attend so we found a neutral place to have it. Hope everyone is doing well and the new year is treating you well so far!


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## froggyfrog

Here is my beautiful boy!


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## elliecain

So handsome!!!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy he&#8217;s a sweetheart!!!


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## Fern81

Omw ellie that's AMAZING! Congrats!! Hope everything goes smoothly and that you have a great pregnancy. Xx

All the babies are really lovely. As I've said before, I might be biased but our miracles are all super cute.

Birthday parties- well it's mid summer here and SO HOT. We're having an outdoor adventure party ("the world awaits") with swimming, gazebo for shade, fruit, cold meatballs and cold cheese pancakes, etc. I'll try to post pics. It's this coming Saturday!

We are still dealing with the flood damage repairs. The insurance has been stalling and stalling! We finally have new cupboards and doors now. When they ripped out G's built-in bedroom closet, I nearly died when I saw the disgusting fungal growth inside all the panels. Took a lot of photos so that I have evidence of the health risk that the pathetic insurance company exposed my baby to. This after I tried my best to dry out the closet, douse it in vinegar and disinfectants etc. At least we haven't been using that cupboard for much after the flood. Next week they will hopefully start ripping out & sanding & replacing the upstairs and downstairs wooden floors. G and I will be staying with my parents for a month.

And in some weird news- I got a bfp 2 days ago (tested because AF was a day late and I felt really tired and strange, even though we didn't try this month), tested again today and got a barely there line, cramping and spotting which has since stopped. Cp, af, body being weird, faulty tests, who knows! If I get a line again tomorrow I'll request blood tests just to be sure because I'm on a very restrictive diet.


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## 2have4kids

Wow Fern, so much going on. Are you hoping for a bfp? Either way congrats. It&#8217;s horrific what you&#8217;re going through with the floid aftermath. Glad to hear you&#8217;re still managing to have fun & stay at your parents. Take care!


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## froggyfrog

Any updates on the bfp fern?? 

Gages party went so great!! We had such a good time! I&#8217;ll post some pics


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## Fern81

Hi, light bfp for 4 days, then nothing, then af about a week late. Might have been wonky tests or a cp. I'm actually relieved I'm not pregnant, just too much shit going on with our home repairs (we ended up staying at a guest house now ffs with me commuting up and down to class and babysitters), car broken down, classroom ceiling still a mess, my mom decided she is no longer my mom because she has wayyy different thoughts on child rearing than I do, bla bla bla. Also, my thyroid is really wonky and we're trying to adapt my meds to fix my levels. So being ko wouldn't have been ideal lol.
G's party was AMAZING! He had so much fun. It was nice and hot and most people swam all day. Couldn't ask for a more perfect day!


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## Fern81

Froggy we also joined a mommy & baby group and looking to join another one also! It's such fun!


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## froggyfrog




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## froggyfrog

Here are some party pics


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## froggyfrog

And here is the birthday boy!


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## 2have4kids

Froggy simply adorable! Glad to hear it was a success!

Fern it&#8217;s such a roller coaster isn&#8217;t it? You sound like you&#8217;re handling it all like a star. Sorry to hear about your mother. No we aren&#8217;t going to oarent the same as our patents and that&#8217;s probably a really really good thing.


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## rebecca822

Hi ladies!!

Happy birthday to all those little guys! Cant believe all the miracle babies are over a year. Its amazing how fast it goes when youre not going through treatment cycles. 
Congrats fern and Ellie on your BFP! Wow two new babies coming up!

Froggy you got yourself a handsome little man! How cute! And your party looks awesome!

My twins are doing quite well. They are both crawling all over the house. Delayed walkers but of course to be expected for them. They babble a lot but also do say a few words. Its so adorable!
My big news is that I decided to go to nursing school! I started my prerequisites last week and Ill be in school for the next 3-4 years. My dream is to work in the NICU and take care of preemies like Alisa and joe. There are no FETs in our future at the moment, but well see what happens in the future!


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## 2have4kids

Rebecca all the best with school. I would think NICU nurses will be in hot demand as IVF&#8217;s continue to become common practice with fertility issues and parents choosing to have kids later in life. And you&#8217;ll have your choice of round the clock shifts to choose from. 
Well on Tuesday we&#8217;re off to Florida. We&#8217;re staying with a friend in Tampa Bay and going to Disney World for 3 days. It&#8217;s going to be much easier than our Oct trip to Mexico as the girls are fully mobile now and walking confidently. We&#8217;re staying 5 min from the parks and looking forward to a bit of pool time too. It was nice to get back to work but I&#8217;m ready for a vacation already :haha:
I hope everyone is doing well. It&#8217;s been -25 with added wind chill here so we&#8217;re ready for some warmth & sun!


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## Fern81

Hi all. Oh no just to set things straight that bfp lasted for 4 days and ended in a cp. And made me realise that however much I wanted a sibling for G a year ago, I very much do not want a baby again. Things just changed soooooo much. If God chooses it; so be it but we are NOT planning. So we have decided that unless we win the lotto we are one and done lol. I don't think I'll have a hysterectomy until next year (medical aid fund issues) but until then, welp we barely have sex as it is and obv I'm infertile so there's that. I am really VERY VERY happy with baby G! And am saving up for the metabolic diet. I think that's the best thing ever. Plus selfishly having my boobs done and a tummy tuck.... lol I only ever said it on here ;) no money for that luxury!


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## Fern81

Ok froggy now on to your party!! How crazy that our boys have their birthdays on the same day but such opposite seasons. Your deco looks amazing!
We did adventures (a world awaits) and he had such a blast. He had his morning and noon nap right through the festivities and when he was awake; smiled throughout. I'll try to post pics now!


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## Fern81

Waahhh dont know if any got through ! Posted so many holiday and party pics!
And then bnb blanked it all out?


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## 2have4kids

Fern81 said:


> Waahhh dont know if any got through ! Posted so many holiday and party pics!
> And then bnb blanked it all out?

Sorry Fern, been there done that on B&B - sucks!


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## Rq120

Hi ladies!! Wow, so much news!!

Ellie - congrats on your little miracle. So amazing that you didn't have to do treatments. 

I love all the birthday pics. I'll try to share one of mine soon.

Rebecca - best of luck in school. I'm sure you will do great and it will be rewarding for you.

We are doing great. Oliver started walking on their birthday (Jan 9th) so they are both cruising around the house. Claire learned how to open doors so I have to keep my office door locked now so I don't get a giggling toddlers bursting in on a conference call. They have mouths full of teeth. Maybe 7+ a piece. It's getting warmer in Florida so we have been getting in the pool a lot and they LOVE it. 
My sister-in-law still lives with us, but working full time swing shifts. When she is home during the day she tag-teams baby care with DH. I don't know how DH does it. He takes care of them all day and is an amazing father. I'm in awe because there is no way I could do 50% of the job he does. Other than that, work is keeping me busy and I have been travelling at least once a month.


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## 2have4kids

Hi ladies, Happy Easter everyone!


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