# Any summer 2016 babies?



## dimmu

I'm cautiously pregnant with my 2nd baby, due date will be sometime mid July so I'm just over five weeks at the moment and feeling very nervous.
I'm 38 and I have a 5 yo DD who's very eager to have a sibling, she doesn't know I'm pregnant yet.

Would love to chat with other "more mature" mamas to be! :)


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## eva1978

Hi dimmu! 

I'm also cautiously pregnant, also due mid-July :) I'm 37, also just over 5 weeks. This is my 5th pregnancy, we have two boys, 4 and 1. Our older boy would LOVE a baby sister :) haven't told him yet about this pregnancy - I'm going to wait probably until week 12/13. He knew about my last pregnancy earlier this year... he ended up being with us during the scan (long story) and so we let him know what was going on, though unfortunately things didn't stick. He was sad when we let him know the embryo had stopped growing :( 

I'm in Australia so technically for me this would be a winter baby, lol. 

Do you have any other symptoms other than being nervous? I feel like I have none... maybe just a bit tired, and irritable. Otherwise -- nothing. It's kinda bumming me out! I had bloods taken 2 days ago and results seemed very good, but it will be over a week until I go for more bloods + my first scan!


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## dimmu

Hello! :)

Thanks for joining me! It's such a nerve-wrecking time!

Sorry to hear about your previous losses, I hope things go smoothly this time. 

That's the reason I don't want to tell anything to DD yet, she'd be so disappointed if the pregnancy didn't work out. That and the fact she would tell absolutely everyone; she already talks about her baby sister all the time so it has happened a few times that people have assumed I was pregnant when I wasn't!:dohh::haha:

I've got sore breasts but that's about it. Had some funny stretching feeling in my tummy before, and some mild cramping/twinges but nothing worth mentioning at the moment. I got quite a bad morning sickness with DD during the second half of the first trimester, remains to be seen if that happens again. I do feel slightly queasy at times, but not too bad. Did you get sick with your previous pregnancies? 

I'm so jealous you are having a scan so soon! I have to wait until 12 weeks for the first scan. Haven't even had an appointment with my regular doctor yet as it's not an emergency. How many scans do you get? I'm actually considering going private at around 8 weeks, it's costly but not sure I can wait until 12 weeks!! 

Whereabouts are you in Australia? I've never been but would love to one day, have some family in Brisbane.


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## Miss Bellum

Hello:hi: I am 36 and cautiously pregnant with number 2 as only just got my bfp today, so 4 weeks. Also a summer baby, due 22 July. Which is funny as my first was also a summer baby, due July but turned up early June! I am really excited as we tried for 2 years for this one but at the same time I dont think I will be able to relax until I get to the 12 week scan. I dont have many symptoms yet, just trouble sleeping (a pain with an early rising 2 1/2 year old). 

Looking forward to talking with you all :)


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## dimmu

Congrats on your BFP Miss Bellum, how exciting!! :)

Did your pregnancy happen all naturally in the end? Must feel nice after two years!!!
My bean is a soya baby, I took soya isoflavones for the first time this cycle as I'm a bit irregular and I was hoping it might bring my ovulation forward as well as make the egg stronger. I wasn't expecting it to work so quickly!

That 12 week scan seems so far away, I'm not sure I can wait that long!

Did you have any symptoms with your first pregnancy at this point?


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## Miss Bellum

I'd not heard of using soya before dimmu how fantastic that it worked. I ended up taking clomid this time round which was a little disappointing but all worth it now. I dont think I had any symptoms this early last time. I was pretty lucky last time and had a fairly smooth pregnancy so fingers crossed this one is similar. 

I find it hard to wait for the 12 week scan too. First trimester seems to be one long waiting game.


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## dimmu

I only heard of soya on these boards as well! A couple of months ago I had one of my long cycles when I didn't o until cd37 which was frustrating. I saw the soya thread here and read some more about it and decided to give it a try, and it worked.:) They call it the nature's clomid, it works the same way. So pleased I gave it a try, whatever it takes eh!

How are you feeling today? Not much change for me, breasts are tender but that's about it. None of the fatigue, frequent urination or anything that everyone keeps mentioning. Should consider myself lucky I guess but at the same time more symptoms would be reassuring!!

I'm seriously considering having the private scan, just not sure I can wait that long. We also have guests coming over for Christmas and even though I'm not a big drinker, I'm known to like a glass or two of wine, and if I suddenly refuse that would certainly raise a few eye brows. So might be nice to have that scan in case people start guessing..


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## Miss Bellum

It's tempting to go for a private scan I think I will end up waiting till January for NHS. Would be lovely to have the scan ready for Christmas. Not many symptoms, I do need to go more but that could just be due to drinking more water. I do feel a little nausea but not sure if it just looking for symptoms


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## dimmu

I know I'm really tempted but not sure I can justify the cost. They seem to be about 100 quid and even more for evenings and weekends, the option I would have to go for as I work full time and wouldn't like to say anything to my boss yet.

I also feel queasy and nauseous at times, but not sure if it is real or just in my head! I should definitely drink more water, keep forgetting.


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## Miss Bellum

That is expensive! 

I find if I keep a glass of water I'm more likely to keep drinking it


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## dimmu

Yeah might be too much, I will early next month if I can possibly wait or whether I should just go ahead and have the scan.

How have you been today? I didn't think the pregnancy was affecting my mood or anything but hubby just said I've been at him all day and he's right, I've been a bitch today. Even DD is getting on my nerves and I've been snappy with her. Not good.:(


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## Miss Bellum

Aww, its tough being pregnant, especially with a toddler! We all sometimes just have off days as well. I do have days of being a bit snappy and I am really trying to get it under control. Hope tomorrow is a better day for you.


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## dimmu

Miss Bellum how are you today? Any more symptoms yet?
I got worried yesterday when mu breasts felt less tender but now they seem to be back what they were before. Should try and somehow calm down a bit and not panic about every little change. I'm just under six weeks now, the time is dragging.
I have my first GP appointment next week, need to decide which hospital I'd prefer. Do you already know yours?


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## Miss Bellum

We don't see the GP here we see the midwife straight away but not until 8 weeks so ages. Will probably stick with same hospital this time round. Hope you are feeling well. Feeling OK just a little queasy stills. Did a test this morning and got a good strong line which was good to see


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## dimmu

I need to see the GP just to get the referral to the hospital, don't think they actually do anything. I assume the booking in appointment would be at around 9 weeks. 
I really liked the hospital where I had DD, it was a specialist maternity hospital. But we have since moved and now I have to pick a new one. Our nearest had a bit of a dodgy reputation for maternity services a few years ago, but think they have since improved. But not sure I want to go there even then..

Glad to hear you got a strong line on the test. I ran out of cheap tests and got a cb digi but it gave me the same result it did a week ago, 2-3 weeks pregnant. Wasn't happy as wanted 3+ weeks lol.


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## Miss Bellum

Its funny how its so different in all the areas! The midwives here refer us to the hospital. Ours is pretty good, it has a midwife lead unit which is pretty new and has birth pools in. I hoped to go there last time but I got there and was told my LG was coming out breach so had to go to the main delivery suite.

Most of our hospitals let you have a tour so you can see what they are like, do yours?

Shame about the digital, it must be frustrating when it doesnt quite tally. At least its showing positive.


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## JJay

Hi there, can I join please?

Dimmu it's nice to be on a pregnancy thread with you instead of TTC. 

I am nervous about symptoms coming and going too, especially after my mmc in the summer. I swear my boobs are sore just because I keep prodding them! I've got an early scan booked on the 30th when I should be around 7 weeks. I've then booked a private one for the 19th December as I want reassurance before Christmas. 

I got my 2-3 digi on Friday but am holding on to my last test until the weekend. The levels of hcg are 10 for 1-2 weeks, 153 for 2-3 then 2753 for 3+ so quite a jump. Based on average increase in hcg it should take around 10 days between 2-3 and 3+


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## Miss Bellum

Hi Jjay, congrats on your pregnancy.How exciting to have a scan booked already! This time is always so worrying, hope the scan shows all is well.


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## Karkey

Me too!! So excited I found out Friday and am 5 weeks too. Also baby #5. I've got 3 boys and 1 girl.I feel very nervous this time round, though maybe it's because it's been 7 years since my last child and I'm 35 now. I will b due around July 20th.


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## dimmu

Hello Jjay, I was hoping you'd join us here!!! I know what you mean about symptoms, I had a really symptomless day on Monday so got worried, then yesterday felt really rough with sore breasts and nausea. Today I seem ok again, just a bit breast tenderness. But I keep prodding them as well! How much is the early scan gonna cost you if you don't mind me asking? I'm thinking of booking one as well, January just seems so far away..

Welcome along Karkey, congratulations! Fifth baby, how exciting! Are you having any symptoms yet?

How are you today Miss Bellum? It is funny how things work differently in different parts of the country. I've been reading online reviews about the hospitals, I might ask the GP next week if I can visit them or if I just have to pick one. I visited the hospital birth centre the last time I was pregnant but not until I was 30+ weeks gone.


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## JJay

Hi everyone and welcome Karkey :) 

My early scan is £99. £30 deposit when you book online and then you pay the rest on the day. For me it's worth it and I've done it with each pregnancy. Last time I had one booked at 9.5 weeks which was when I found out I'd had a mmc. If I hadn't had the early scan it would have been 12-13 weeks before I found out which would have been worse. Once you see the heartbeat at 9 weeks the chance of miscarriage is only around 0.5-1%, which is the same as 12+ weeks so I find it very reassuring to have a scan around that time. I show really quickly too so I'd prefer to be able to tell people earlier than 12 weeks if I want to!

Dimmu, when will you test again with a digi? I only have one left and it's staring at me every time I go to the bathroom. I've resorted to using opks to check out my line progression! I am trying to hold out until the weekend as if I get another 2-3, it means I'll have to buy another pack!!


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## dimmu

Jjay, thanks for the info, I've just booked a scan. I found a place that charges £99 for Saturday appointments, most places are more costly on weekends. I should be about 9 weeks when I go. We have guests coming over for christmas and I'm sure they'd think something was up if I refused to drink. I'm not a big drinker but I'm known to like a glass or two of red with dinner sometimes, and certainly at christmas dinner. And I'm pretty sure I'll be showing by then, I feel like there's a bulge already!
I hope you don't mind if I ask this, but did you notice anything different with your last pregnancy that ended in mmc in comparison to the other pregnancies? Any lack of symptoms or anything? 

I'm trying to save my last digi until this weekend. I've hidden it at the back of the bathroom cupboard to avoid temptation any earlier!!!:)


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## JJay

Haha sounds like a good idea, I might hide mine too!

I'm glad you've got your scan booked - very exciting! I don't mind you asking about it at all. I was sad at the time but am quite pragmatic about it and know there must have been a good reason why it happened. Also it hadn't developed beyond around 6 weeks so there was nothing much to see on the screen which was good. I wish I could tell you I felt really different but I didn't really. The only thing I noticed was substantially more lower back ache than my previous pregnancies which may or may not have been related. I did also start to feel slightly less tired and nauseous and I remember thinking wow I'm feeling better already, whereas it was always around the 14 week mark before. It wasn't like I just woke up one day feeling better though and it's totally normal to have good days and bad days. 

I wish I felt worse this time around as that would be more reassuring but just mild nausea, fatigue and sore boobs that all seem to come and go. I can't wait to get passed this first trimester!

I'm also freezing cold all of the time so don't know if that's a symptom too!?

J X

Ps to make myself feel better I like trawling through old first trimester posts and looking at tickers to see all of those who were worried like us and are now late pregnancy or had their babies. Most are success stories and the losses, especially mmcs are few and far between.


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## dimmu

Thanks for sharing JJay, I really appreciate it. The thought of miscarriage really scares me, and it doesn't help that they say the chances increase the older you are. :( As much as I hated the morning sickness I kind of wish I'd get it again, it was very reassuring. At the moment I'm exactly the same as you, sore boobs and nausea that keep coming and going. No fatigue, not back pain, no frequent urination. 
I'm so desperate for this baby, I've been broody for years but I only managed convince DH to try again this year. I worry he might be put off if things didn't work out.

Not sure if feeling cold is a symptom unless the pregnancy somehow affects your circulation this early on. When exactly is your scan? I'm going December 12th. 

I felt like testing earlier so used an OPK, got a really strong bright line so feeling better now. I really hope I can wait until this weekend to use the digi. :)


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## JJay

I'm with you, it's so worrying especially when you want it so much. At least we are both in with a very high chance of all being fine. DH has already said no more if it doesn't work out for us this time. I just wish I could see what was going on inside! I've definitely felt less sick and had more energy today so feel a bit stressed and keep thinking of the digi in the cupboard! I've also noticed that I don't seem to be peeing all of the time which I'm sure I did previously. 

My first scan is November 30th and then the one I've paid for is on the 19th December. My NT scan should then be early January, I should be able to use my Doppler by then and also start to feel movements so I will be more chilled out. 

My boobs have just started really hurting - hurray! Haha X


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## Miss Bellum

Hi Karkey, congrats! Wow, number 5! Hope everythings going well for you. 

Dimmu glad you had a good day. I think its a good idea to be able to look round the hospital first, gives you a good idea of what to expect. Also easier to know where you are going if you turn up in a rush! I hope your local ones do let you do tours. 

I'm pretty tired today but thats down to my lg waking up at 3, 4 and 5:30. Yawn. Not many other symptoms today


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## JJay

I hear you Miss Bellum! My 2 year old seems to go through phases of poor sleeping and the latest one has been going on for around a month. He wakes up several times a night crying for me. He just wants a cuddle then settled again but the broken nights are hard. Hope you get a better night tonight X


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## Miss Bellum

JJay said:


> I hear you Miss Bellum! My 2 year old seems to go through phases of poor sleeping and the latest one has been going on for around a month. He wakes up several times a night crying for me. He just wants a cuddle then settled again but the broken nights are hard. Hope you get a better night tonight X

Thats rough! Hope you have a better night too.


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## dimmu

How are you all today? Hope you've managed to get some sleep JJay and Misd Bellum?

I feel nauseous already, breakfast is becoming such a struggle. I have to get up really early for work, at 5.30, and I never feel like eating then anyway but now it's even more of a struggle and I have to eat something as my commute is over an hour.
I'm also quite bloated, think I'm done with boxy and tight dresses now unless I want everyone at work to start suspecting something, it's a-line for me from now on.

What's your first scan JJay, is that through NHS?


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## eva1978

Hi all, Sorry I've been offline for a while, had spotty internet the last few days on travel. 

Congrats to all the new joiners! The scan dates seem sooo far away!! But it's nice to know you can get a private one (even if you need to pay). Is it normal that in the UK you have to wait until about 12 weeks for a first paid-for scan? 

I'm 6 weeks today. I'm going to book a scan for next week. I think with my health insurance I can get one 6 weeks, one 12 weeks, and one 18-20 weeks. I'm really pretty terrified since last time I had a scan I found out about my mmc (though that was at 9.5 weeks). I'm super bummed that my breasts just feel TOTALLY NORMAL. I think with all of my other pregnancies (this is my 5th), by now I at least had some kind of heavy feeling in them. I'm trying not to drag dh down but I can't help feeling this pregnancy is already lost :( I do feel a bit nauseated here and there, but that's only mildly reassuring. I guess I feel similar to you, JJay! It can be a crap time... we'll all get through it one way or another though! 

Anyway, sorry to rant! :) Just needed somewhere to express my doubts...


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## Miss Bellum

That's such an early start dimmu! And to think I'm complaining about 5am wake ups as a temporary thing. Had a pretty good night think I crashed out at 10 and slept through till 5. Sorry to hear the nausea has arrived hope it doesnt last long. I have such a low level of nausea I'm not sure if its real or if I am looking for symptoms. 

Luckily for me most of my clothes are quite loose fitting so I think I can get by for a while yet. 

Eva, its true we have to wait until 12 weeks for the first free scan. You can get earlier ones if you pay. Its great that your health insurance covers so many scans. 

It must be really worrying if you have had a mc. My first pregnancy, I had no symptoms at all so maybe you are just having an easier time of it? I will keep my fingers crossed the scan gives a positive result.


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## dimmu

Hi Eva, good to hear from you again. It's still early days, hopefully some symptoms will come along soon and if not, perhaps, just as Miss Bellum said, you are one of the lucky ones who don't get any with this pregnancy! Good luck with your scan.

Miss Bellum I'm glad to hear you had a better night! Hopefully it will be the same again tonight. I've chosen to start work earlier than most people as it means I can leave at 4 pm. That way I can collect DD from the after school club just after 5 pm. If I picked her up an hour later it wouldn't leave much time for dinner, homework, play etc in the evenings. It's hard at times when the alarm goes off that early, but worth it as I get to spend some extra time with DD in the evenings. DH takes her to school in the mornings so I only have to get myself ready!:)


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## JJay

Hi Eva, it sounds like we are in the same boat after both having recent mmcs at 9.5 weeks. I swing from being really nervous to thinking it's unlikely to be that unlucky twice in a row! 

Miss Bellum, glad you had a better night. Mine was ok too 10.30-6 with one 4.45 wake up. 

Dimmu, your morning is so early but I guess it's lovely only having to get yourself ready. I so enjoy the freedom of getting only me ready on the very rare business trip I have. Sorry the nausea has hit but reassuring at the same time. 

I have been up and down as I had very few symptoms yesterday and my bloating completely disappeared. When DS woke at 4.45 I started googling 'loss of bloating in early pregnancy' I am a looney! Anyway bloating is now back along with a little bit of nausea and very sore boobs. Yay! I've also managed to hold off on the digi. I might try tomorrow though. When are you doing yours Dimmu?

How far along is everyone?


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## dimmu

Oh you're not alone with googling everything, even in the middle of the night. Somehow I thought tww would bring out the worst in me in terms of googling stuff, but think I'm just addicted now and always trolling old pregnancy forums lol.

I'm six weeks now, planning to do the digi on sunday. How about you, when you gonna use yours?


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## JJay

I think I might try the digi tomorrow afternoon, it will be a week since I got 2-3. I know I should hold out until at least Sunday. I'll see...

No googling tonight I'm bloated, nauseous and tired! Night all :)


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## Karkey

Kinda in the same boat myself. My symptoms have all but vanished apart from missed period. My boobs are no longer sore n cramps are to a minimum. Not sure what to think as so long since I've been through this so I can't remember. Keeping my fingers crossed coz my first scan isn't til 6th Jan when I'll be 12 weeks. Done a digital test late afternoon and said pregnant 2-3 but I'm 5 weeks 1 day so confused.


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## eva1978

Thanks dimmu, miss bellum and jjay for your support! I'm also a google monster at times... I tend to feel better about things when I just DON'T google anything, lol. But it's hard to resist! 

Karkey - I know how you feel. Nothing to do but hang in there! :) We're there with you! 

I'm currently 6w1d. 
I booked an appt for next week when I'll be 6w4d. Hoping to see a heartbeat! 

I miss Germany when I was able to receive a scan at every Gyno visit for a fee of 150 Euro. I had about a dozen scans with both of my successful pregnancies! Ah well... different healthcare systems. :-S


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## dimmu

Karkey I think 2-3 weeks on digi when you are five weeks is correct. I understand that the digis count the time from conception rather than the start of the period, so is roughly two weeks behind if that makes sense?

Yeah google is bad, you can come up with the answers you want, and then read another old pregnancy thread where there is the worst possible outcome with whatever symptoms you are googling. And of course then there are those inconclusive ones where after you've read five pages of old posts there's no update about the outcome lol. Pointless anyway, should learn to stay away.

My morning sickness is getting worse now. It has gone from evening sickness to all day nausea/travel sickness, and this morning I had a glass of orange juice and it came back up. Feeling dreadful now, at work but can't concentrate. Luckily my boss is not in today!:)


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## Karkey

Hope ur sickness doesn't last too long Dimmu. Still not feeling anything apart from odd crampy feeling today. But it's something I suppose. This waiting is AWFUL!!!


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## JJay

How exciting Eva, the first scan on this thread next week. I'm looking forward to hearing about it :)

Karkey, I agree with Dimmu it's still early to get 3+ on a digi, from what I understand levels can vary quite a lot early on. I've been trying to hold out doing my last digi after getting 2-3 last Friday. I think I will try today or Sunday. You're right the waiting is horrid, I much prefer later on with a nice bump and movements. 

Sorry you're sick Dimmu, I hope it passes quickly. I know what you mean about not being able to concentrate on anything else. I have to force myself to think of other things otherwise I'd be on here all day!

I felt pretty rotten yesterday, it's like having a permanent bad hangover!


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## JJay

Grrrrrr I am clearblue cross!

Finally got my last digi out of the cupboard hoping for my 3+ and found this!? I obviously didn't read the pack properly but I didn't even know they did mixed packs. I feel tricked.
 



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## dimmu

Oh no, I almost bought one of those packs as well!

Clearly a sign you should leave the testing for a bit longer!:)


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## JJay

You're right! I might not even bother now as only 9 days until my scan and at least it was a nice bright line!

Good luck for yours tomorrow


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## Miss Bellum

I'm not happy with Clearblue at the moment either. I bought a double box of the Clearblue Easy test, with each box containing two tests. None of them worked at all, not even a control line. 

The box for the double is very confusing, its not clear at all what you are getting. How frustrating for you JJay.

Hope everyone had a good day. For once, I actually got a lie in until 8am so feeling pretty good.


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## JJay

Glad you got a lie in Miss B, I was up a few times in the night but also had a nice lie in this morning :) that's rotten that neither of your tests worked - I bet if you complain to Clearblue they will send you a free pack. 

I couldn't resist the digis at the supermarket this afternoon but pleased to have my 3+
 



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## Miss Bellum

Whoops edited earlier post as I meant to say didn't even get a control line. I did another first response one step and got such a strong line the control was barely visible. 

Great to see you got your 3 week digi :)


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## dimmu

Jjay that's great, yay!:)

I've not done my digi yet, I guess I'll do it tomorrow. Not sure whether to use fmu though as I seem to get stronger lines in the afternoons, and I have to use toilet at night as well.

Miss Bellum, getting to sleep until 8 am, that's amazing! DD woke me up at 6.30 am today when she needed the loo. :(

My morning sickness has been better today, I got some sea-bands and popped them on today before I even got up and think they are helping. The edge of the nausea is gone, not sure if it is some sort of placebo effect or if the bands actually work, but either way I've felt better than yesterday. The other thing I've done is to keep eating, small portions in frequent intervals, just a slice of toast with some cheese, then another one maybe one or max two hours later and so on. 
The good news is I've gone off chocolate and coffee, I usually can't resist either!!! The bad news is I keep craving salty unhealthy stuff like crackers and crisps, they really help with nausea as well.
I'm so gonna put on weight with this pregnancy.:(


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## Miss Bellum

Glad your ms has been better today. 

She did wake up at 4:30 but I was able to get her back in bed, was amazed she slept through till 8. 

I think I will struggle with weight too :( Trying to keep up with exercise and to eat sensibly but its tough. Perhaps you could try something like snackajacks or flavoured rice cakes?


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## JJay

I know I will struggle with weight :( I put on 70lb with DD, lost 60 then fell pregnant with DS a year later. Tried hard not to put on as much but still ended up +60lb so back where I was! Lost 50lb since I had him but am still net 20lb up since before children. As this will be our last I'm determined to get back to a healthy bmi afterwards.


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## dimmu

I finally did my digi this morning after maybe 4-5 hour hold, it's 3+ weeks.:happydance:

https://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u564/hmh3101/Mobile%20Uploads/d47daca7-805e-42a3-afd1-d1f21666898f_zps5yf5zyzi.jpg

Phew, such a relief.

I was the same as you Jay with my last pregnancy, I put on lots of weight but I was never actually weighed so don't know how much exactly. I lost most of it quite quickly because I was breastfeeding, but 10 mlbs decided to stick around. I was 32/33 then so I'm sure the struggle with weight won't be any easier this time.

I was sick this morning. :( Think I have to start having something to eat next to bed that I can snack on before getting up, had the same with the last pregnancy. 

Miss Bellum are you gonna get more tests? You don't have any early scans booked do you?

I have my first GP appointment on Wednesday, and still haven't decided which hospital I want. Have to make up my mind soon.


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## eva1978

dimmu - glad your morning sickness is feeling better! hope it keeps at bay. Congrats on your 3+! I had never heard of those tests until the recent threads. I may try to get some for later if I can find some that match my stage. 

Today I felt strangely alright, which just made me a bit depressed, lol! I know it's silly since when you really ARE sick and can't concentrate on work/chores and it's hard to deal with the kids etc., it just really sucks! I feel like I should be productive as I can, before the sickness starts! 

I have my scan tomorrow and I'm more than half expecting a negative result, but trying to stay positive. How are you struggling with it JJay? 

For dimmu and others that struggle with snacks and tend to crave salty things (I hear you completely)... so I recently discovered Vegemite! I guess it's the Australian counterpart of Marmite. I often find myself spreading it thinly on rice crackers or toast with a bit of butter and/or sharp cheese :)


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## JJay

Yay Dimmu hurray for 3+! 

Yes breastfeeding lost the weight for me too so I will do that again this time around. I am feeling similar to previous pregnancies too. Not sick but tired and nauseous and craving comfort food like bread and cheesey things rather than fruit and veg! 

Exciting that you have your appointment this week and Eva has her scan :) 

Has anyone considered the harmony/panorama test? This wasn't around when we had DD and DS so I didn't do any kind of screening. Now there is a non evasive test and I'm a few years older I am tempted, although it's very expensive.


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## JJay

Hi Eva, I think we posted at the same time! I will have everything crossed for you tomorrow. I am very nervous too especially as the scan will be in a 'bad news room' for me. I keep imagining the same will happen again but try to keep telling myself it's more likely to be OK than not. Even if the scan is fine I know I will still worry until the next one! If my scan on the 19th Dec goes well I think I will be able to relax more X


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## dimmu

Good luck with you scan tomorrow eva, hope it all goes smoothly.

Jjay I've considered harmony/panorama but they are very costly, around £500 here in London. I think I would see first how things go in the 12 week scan.

Today has been a bit of a hit and miss, some nausea, vomited once this afternoon but managed to take DD out to the local park on a play date and got through that without feeling too bad, just a bit nauseous towards the end.


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - I did get some more first response tests. Compared them to my first set of tests . Interesting comparison. Good to hear the sea bands are helping with the sickness. Great news on your digi.

I found bf did help keep my weight under control and when I stopped I put on a lot of weight. This time round I do intend to be careful what I eat and try to start exercising as soon as I can after. 

Good luck at the GP - do you need to make up your mind on hospitals this early? 

Eva - Glad you had a good day. One of the joys of pregnancy, either suffering from symptoms or worrying about none! Good luck for your scan tomorrow, hope all is well.

I'm a big fan of Marmite too, yummy! I found some Marmite flavour babybel cheeses which were great! 

Jjay - I thought the Harmony test was available on NHS but I cant find anything about it so maybe not? I did consider it for my last pregnancy and would consider this time if it is on NHS. The outcome wouldn't affect anything but it would be good to get prepared.
 



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## JJay

Miss B your line is so dark now you can hardly see the control line! Progression looks good!

Eva, how was your scan? Hope all was well. 

The harmony/panorama tests are around £500 here too (I live in Northumberland) ive found an online one that's £340. They send you out a kit and you can pay around £15 at hospital for them to draw your blood then you send it off. I'm undecided yet, I'll probably see how the NT test goes first, I've not had one before so need to do some research on what's a good measurement. 

Sorry you're still feeling sick Dimmu, I'm feeling a bit better today which makes me uneasy - I wish I good just enjoy the times where I've got a bit more energy!


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## eva1978

Thank you ladies for your support and good wishes! The scan went well. I was dated at 6w5d (1 day later than I calculated). So - a temporary moment of relief! :) 

JJay I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you too! That's harder it's the same room... yikes. At least I had a different building, different people. You are right though -- it's waaay more likely that everything is just OK :) 

Marmite flavoured cheese? Nice :) Sorry about the vomiting, dimmu :-/



JJay said:


> Yay Dimmu hurray for 3+!
> 
> Has anyone considered the harmony/panorama test? This wasn't around when we had DD and DS so I didn't do any kind of screening. Now there is a non evasive test and I'm a few years older I am tempted, although it's very expensive.

Hmm, thanks for bringing it up! I guess I should ask my doctor about it. It sounds like what I had done in Germany with my sons. It was covered, I think, with DS2 since I was 35... with DS1 I was 32 and I think I paid about 150 Euro to have it done along with the nuchal scan. I would do it again - but need to see what my options are here (cost-wise) in Australia.


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## JJay

:happydance: Eva fab news on the scan! I will be similar when I go for mine on Monday. 7.1 by lmp but I ovulate late so maybe a couple of days behind that. What did you see on the scan?


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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - I didnt realise how expensive the harmony test was. Think I might wait for the nt test too. 

Glad you are feeling a bit better today.

Eva, fab news on the scan! How reassuring. 

The insomnia seems to be the worst symptom for me. Getting very fed up of waking in the early hours and not being able to sleep.


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## dimmu

Eva, that's great about the scan, yay! Hope you feel a bit more relaxed now. When will you be having your next scan?

Jjay that's quite a good deal for the harmony test, I've only seen them for £500. I will definitely wait until I have the results of the NT scan before making the decision. How are you feeling today?

Miss B that sounds awful. Do you suffer from insomnia anyway, or is it something linked to pregnancy only? Poor you, I hope you slept better last night.

Sorry for being so quiet yesterday, I had my worst day in terms of MS so far. Was sick twice before I even left for work, the commute was awful but managed to get through it, but was sick again as soon as I got to work. The whole morning was awful, the afternoon was ok and in the evening I was sick again. Exactly the same pattern as with my last pregnancy. 

Today I feel better, I've only been sick once, and I'm armed with sandwiches and crackers so that I can keep eating to keep the nausea away.


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## eva1978

Dimmu - sorry that the ms is just so awful for you these days! Really makes it tough to get through the day! You said you were taking something for it, weren't you? 

Miss Bellum - the insomnia sounds like no treat either! I'm sorry :-/ ... how exhausting and frustrating. I've never had it that bad. Sometimes later in pregnancy I'll lie awake for about 2 hrs at night, but it's not every night... and these days thankfully my little ones let me sleep pretty well (*normally* only have to get up once before 7 am, and I can get back to sleep after so it's no big deal). 

Jjay - I saw the little bean (measured 8 mm), and a little flickering of the heartbeat. Also she showed me some of the doppler flow (flashing red/colours). She measured the heartrate at 120 bpm which she said was normal for 6w5d. It is definitely reassuring - even though the feeling might only last a few days! :)


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## JJay

:( Dimmu your ms sounds horrid, I don't know how you're managing to work. I hope it gets better soon. 

Sorry about your insomnia Miss B, I hope you get a better sleep tonight. I am so exhausted at the moment. I feel like I could sleep all day. Thankfully DS has been sleeping better so I am getting better sleep too. 

Your scan sounds fab Eva, I am so excited and nervous for mine. Not long to wait now! Aside from fatigue I'm not feeling too bad, a little nausea and sore boobs. That's it. 

Hope your docs appointment goes well tomorrow Dimmu. Have you decided on your hospital?


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## Miss Bellum

Thanks for the sympathy ladies, I had another rought night and woke up at 1:30 and didnt get to sleep again til 4am. Yawn! Getting very tedious now. Its not something I usually have any problems with, I'm usually in bed and alsleep til morning. 

Sorry to hear about the sickness yesterday Dimmu, sounds rough. Glad it was better today. Did your sickness ease up last time?


Eva, I'm usually quite lucky as my lg only wakes once or twice every few days I used to be able to go straight to sleep after but seem to have lost the knack. Its good your little ones are letting you get some sleep. How lovely to have seen bean and have the hb measured. 


JJay - Glad you are getting some better sleep, this stage is cetainly exhasting! Its good you aren't suffering too much hope it keeps up


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## dimmu

Hi how's everyone today? Any more insomnia or other symptoms?

My MS has been a bit better the last two days, I was only sick maybe 4-5 times yesterday and only once so far today. I work from home today so that certainly helps as I can stay next to the fridge lol!

I had my GP appointment today, and ended up picking the hospital closest to us. Just thought it would be the easiest, it's only 20 min walk from home and DD's school whereas the other hospital would have been a bus/tube ride away and who wants to rely on London public transport system when heavily pregnant! I feel like I made the right choice, just thought if anything happens and I have to be hospitalised or something it's nicer to be close to home. 

I also got some medication for my MS, I only plan to take it if I really need it, like if I have to meet a client at work or something. Otherwise I guess I will just keep eating as it keeps the MS away!!!

Ms B, with my last pregnancy the vomiting stopped after the first trimester, the nausea didn't go away completely but it got better as well. I did put on lots of weight because I kept eating so much to keep the nausea away. 

xx


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## dimmu

Oh I should add that I asked the GP if my age is a big deal pregnancywise or if I should take anything into consideration because of my age. She just looked at me and said 38 is not that old lol. 
Made me feel better, I think I've been reading way too many scary articles about pregnancies over 35 and all the associated risks!


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## JJay

Hi Everyone,

Dimmu I'm glad your appointment went well, your doctor sounds lovely. I hope the ms is a bit better. 

Hope you're getting some sleep Miss B

I am feeling worried today, I feel quite normal, not really any symptoms. My bloat seems better and I'm not peeing all the time :( since I got 3+ at the weekend there doesn't seem a point in testing anymore either so I feel like there is nothing to put my mind at ease. Tmi but I keep getting lots of watery discharge today and keep dashing to the loo thinking I'm bleeding. My scan on Monday can't come soon enough.


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## Miss Bellum

Sightly better night last night, slept all the way through till 4:55 when my lg woke up. She went back to sleep but I couldnt. Feeling really tired now. Still finished work for the week now and have some time off next week so hopefully will be able to catch up on some rest. 

Dimmu - Glad the appointment went well, your doctor sounds lovely. I picked my hopsital based on location as well. You dont want to be trapising around on the underground when you are heavily pregnant! 

Hope the MS stays away. 

JJay the first trimester is such a worrying time. I had no symptoms at all for the first 12 weeks or so of my first pregnacy and everything was fine so hopefully it will be same for you. Fingers crossed for you scan on Monday.


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## dimmu

Jjay how are you today? I think it's normal for symptoms to fluctuate during the first trimester, hopefully there is no reason to be concerned. I know what you saying about there being nothing you can do to confirm things are making progress after getting that 3+ on digi. I keep using my cheap OPKs every now and then just to see that line pop up. Pointless I know but any kind of reassurance is better than none at times like these when all you can do is wait. I hope the scan goes smoothly. I still have two weeks until mine, the time is dragging!

Miss B glad to hear you managed to sleep a bit more. How was last night? Nice for you to have some time off. Christmas just can't come quick enough, I have 1.5 weeks off work then, can't wait, especially as I should be having my 12/13 wk scan soon after.

Not much change for me, been sick twice today, and think it will keep happening. I've got the nausea medication now but reluctant to take it unless I really have to. I guess I'll just keep alternating between eating and throwing up, great!


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## Miss Bellum

dimmu sorry you are still being sick, I'd probably keep the medication for worst case scenarios too. 

I cant believe how quickly Christmas is coming round. I'm sort of in a hurry to get to January to get my scan but I dont want to miss the time with my lg, especially lookin forward to Christmas with her. 

Not a great night again, 3am wake up and then lg was awake at 4:45, 5:30 and 6 when I gave up and got up.


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## Kesha8571

dimmu said:


> I'm cautiously pregnant with my 2nd baby, due date will be sometime mid July so I'm just over five weeks at the moment and feeling very nervous.
> I'm 38 and I have a 5 yo DD who's very eager to have a sibling, she doesn't know I'm pregnant yet.
> 
> Would love to chat with other "more mature" mamas to be! :)

 I'm 5 wks 4 days, I'm 36, been prego total 6 times..I have 3 boys..we hoping for a girl..been feeling a little crampy, large and sore breast, lil moody.had a scan ystedy to get estimate due date, they only seen the sac. Kinda normal due to me being 5w..still nervous aswell.


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## Qmama79

Hi! Just stalking this thread. 
Miss Bellum: I had bad insomnia fr a few weeks in first trimester. Awful, as I'm a solid sleeper. It passed. Hang in there! 
Good luck ladies! Wish you all good pregnancies & healthy babies.


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## JJay

Hi Kesha, congratulations! It must be nice to have a scan already, when will you get another? Will you find out the gender or keep it a surprise until the birth?

Dimmu, I hope you're feeling ok. I don't know how you cope with being sick all the time. I have a bit of a phobia about being sick, I dread it and it's really rare it happens. 

Miss B sorry you're having such bad sleep :( you're right Christmas seems around the corner all of a sudden. It's nice to have the distraction of all the presents, cards, wrapping and parties!

I had a busy day yesterday, I met my sisters for lunch in a lovely restaurant. I was worried a bit as I felt fine all day and was even looking enviously at all those enjoying a nice chilled glass of prosecco or wine with their lunch. However when I cooked dinner for me and DH the smell really turned my stomach and I found I couldn't face eating any of it. I ended up having 2 bowls of ice cream instead! 

I'm back to feeling tired and nauseous today. I'm counting down to my scan on Monday...


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## JJay

Sorry Qmama I missed your post! Thanks for the good wishes. Congratulations on your little blue bump X


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## eva1978

Hi Kesha8571 and Qmama79! 

Sorry ladies for my long silence the last few few days! Things have been extremely busy both at home and work...I didn't even get around to calling my doctor until today (a few days after my ultrasound). He wasn't in though, need to wait until next week. 

JJay - glad you're feeling a bit (emotionally) better today! 

Dimmu - glad your appt went well! What kind of meds did they give you for your sickness? I'm sorry you keep throwing up! :-/ I've felt like it many times (esp. when brushing teeth!) but so far, I've been able to keep it down. Thankfully!

Miss B arrrgg the insomnia. I hope it ends for you soon!


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## Miss Bellum

Hi all, actually managed to sleep all the way through last night, although it was after I fell asleep on the sofa so felt pretty icky when I woke! 

Went to the midwife to arrange a booking in appointment and found its all changed now! They dont arrange the first appointment now until you are 10-12 weeks along. Used to be 8. There is a pre-booking session at 8 weeks when you go with a small group of other ladies to find out how the processes work. Not sure what to expect from that but guess will find out on the 14th December. 

Kesha - Glad your scan went well. I am still previous nervous too, seems a long time till January and our first scan. 

Hi Qmma Insomnia is annoying when you are used to sleeping through. Hopefully it will pass soon. 

Jjay - sounds like a lovely lunch with your sister. I sometimes get a bit envious of people enjoying a nice glass of wine! What a shame you didn't get to have your dinner. Hope the nausea lifts soon.

Hi Eva, sounds like a busy time, hope you can relax for a bit.


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## dimmu

Hi everyone,
Hope you're all doing well. Sorry for not being around yesterday, I had a particularly rough day in terms of MS and just crashed in the evening. Friday nights aren't what they used to be!!

JJay - glad to hear you have some symptoms again. How's today been for you? Good luck with your scan on Monday.

Miss B - How's the insomnia? Your first appointment seems to be fairly late! Do you have a scan date yet?

Eva - Hope you get a chance to unwind a bit this weekend, sounds like you're very busy!

Kesha - It's perfectly normal to feel nervous, I think we are all guilty of that, and I'm not sure if it ever goes away completely!

My MS is a bit milder today, but I have a big afternoon ahead, have to travel to the other side of London with DD for a housewarming, wish I could just stay home and take it slowly. This morning was stressful as well as one of my pet rabbits was poorly so had to rush her to the vets, I was really hoping for a relaxing morning to prepare for this afternoon but of course that never happened. :(

The hospital got in touch with me already, I was surprised how quick it was. Last time I had to wait a couple of weeks for a letter to turn up. I will have my first appointment with a community midwife on Wednesday in a local children's centre. Also very different from last time when I had to go to the hospital for my booking in. I assume I would have to go the hospital separately for blood samples. 
I also have the 12 week scan booked for December 31st!! Seems like such a long wait!


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## JJay

Hey everyone, hope you're all having a good weekend. I'm ok just feeling fat and sick and tired so all good!

How are you feeling Eva? When will you get another scan?

Where in the uk are you miss B? I had my first 2 pregnancies in Yorkshire but I'm in Northumberland now and the process is similar to yours. We have a pre booking in group session (which I've been to) you just turn up and are given notes and told what not to eat etc. We then have a 1.5 hour booking in appointment 7-9 weeks, mine is on the 7th Dec. 10-12 weeks seems late!

Dimmu, how exciting that you got your scan date through! New Year's Eve is a nice day to have it. Hope the MS is getting better. 

We've got such a busy weekend with the start of the children's Christmas discos, performances etc so it's great for keeping my mind off worrying about the scan on Monday.


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## eva1978

Hi all, 

dimmu - sorry you can't catch a break! Hope you got a bit of rest so far over the weekend! 31st indeed seems far away! I hope you start to feel a bit better so the days don't drag on as much. 

I did manage to get some rest though also had to do a bit of work, but I'm all done now so going to bed after this :) 

JJay - I don't know when my next scan will be. I'm going to try and see my GP later this week and ask for a scan referral (probably has to be private) for this or next week. Right around today was when I lost the pregnancy last time (to find out 2 weeks later). The relieved feeling of my scan last week has worn off and now I'm getting pretty nervous again. Also feeling less ill... and don't feel like I'm "getting any bigger"... which I remember experiencing last time :-/ ... You have your big scan in a week, right (7th)? Hope you start to feel less icky! How were the Christmas celebrations? 

Miss B - nice you got a long sleep finally! Though I know what you mean... couch sleeps aren't quite as satisfying! So the 14th is your next big appointment?


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## Miss Bellum

Feeling pretty tired now, very busy weekend. We went to Birmingham to celebrate SIL 40th birthday. Nice to catch up with them as we dont see them often due to distance (they live in Peterborough and MIL is moored in Birmingham so it makes a good halfway meeting point). We also got to share our good news with them which was nice. It is a little early to share but we wanted the opportunity to tell them in person before we make any FB announcements. 

Hope your MS is better now dimmu and you are able to enjoy the housewarming

Insomnia does seem to be easing off but last night was tough. My LG was a bit thrown off by a hotel stay and woke up every 15 minutes between 12:45 and 2:30 when she had a melt down. Hoping for a better night tonight as back home. 

Sorry about your rabbit, hope she/he is feeling better soon.

Everything seems like such a long wait! Our process changed too and we dont even get a booking in appointment until 10 weeks. Great that you have a scan date though. 

Jjay - I'm in the South West. If the group thing is similar to yours, it seems like a bit of waste of time really. Doesnt seem to be much point in telling you what not to eat when you are already 10 weeks in! 

Enjoy the performances and discos! 

Eva, yep nothing until 14th and that doesnt seem to be a very useful appointment. Hope you can get another scan soon.


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## JJay

Hi everyone hope you're all doing ok. 

I'm feeling a bit flat after my scan. It took them a while to find anything and I ended up with an internal scan. They said my uterus is flat and tilted so it was difficult to see anything. I was thinking the worst again. A second sonograper took over and managed to find a heartbeat so that was good news, however she said baby was measuring max of 6 weeks. I asked about heart rate but their machine is old and doesn't count beats. She said all they check for at this stage is a viable pregnancy - in the right place, with a heartbeat. I asked about the difference in dates (the very earliest I could be would be 6w4days) and she said its common to be a little bit out early on and I'll probably find its caught up my the next scan. 

Instead of feeling reassured by my reassurance scan I think I feel worse! I've got a private scan booked for the 19th Dec but that seems like ages away. Am I crazy for thinking of booking another private scan for next week?


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## dimmu

JJay said:


> Hi everyone hope you're all doing ok.
> 
> I'm feeling a bit flat after my scan. It took them a while to find anything and I ended up with an internal scan. They said my uterus is flat and tilted so it was difficult to see anything. I was thinking the worst again. A second sonograper took over and managed to find a heartbeat so that was good news, however she said baby was measuring max of 6 weeks. I asked about heart rate but their machine is old and doesn't count beats. She said all they check for at this stage is a viable pregnancy - in the right place, with a heartbeat. I asked about the difference in dates (the very earliest I could be would be 6w4days) and she said its common to be a little bit out early on and I'll probably find its caught up my the next scan.
> 
> Instead of feeling reassured by my reassurance scan I think I feel worse! I've got a private scan booked for the 19th Dec but that seems like ages away. Am I crazy for thinking of booking another private scan for next week?

Oh no, so sorry the first scan was disappointing and did nothing to reassure you. Was this with NHS, were they concerned at all or do they just think you got the dates wrong? I assume you know exactly when you ovulated? 

I think if I were you and if I could afford it I would also consider another scan. Is there a chance you could bring forward the scan you have booked for the 19th?

How's everyone else been?
I've been nauseous all day, and been sick a few times as well, so the usual. I've gone off quite a few different foods now and it's becoming a bit of a struggle to eat as I don't really fancy anything. Then again I have to eat to keep the nausea under control, I couldn't work otherwise. 
I've also had some sharp twinges today, they seem to come sometimes when I sit still for a long time like this afternoon in the office. I guess they are some sort of stretching pains, or so I hope anyway.


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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - Sorry to hear the scan wasn't reassuring. It can be difficult to measure baby at this stage so hopefully nothing to worry about. At least there is a HB and surely they would have said if there was something to worry about? I do understand why you would want a private scan to check though. 

Dimmu, I've been feeling nauseous a lot today to. Luckily dont seem to be going off any foods yet. Hopefully it wont last long for either of us.


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## JJay

Hey Dimmu I'm glad your symptoms are still nice and strong! Sounds like you're getting round ligament pain, are your clothes getting snug?

I have booked a private scan for Friday. Today's was nhs and I've found in the past that the private ones are much more accurate as the equipment they use is better. I know I will feel stressed until then but at least the scan on Friday should give me a better idea of whether there's a problem. I've been googling like mad and found lots of people in a similar situation. Seems around 50/50 positive and negative result...


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## JJay

Thanks Miss B, they did seem OK about the scan so maybe I am worrying too much. Fingers crossed X


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## eva1978

JJay said:


> Hey Dimmu I'm glad your symptoms are still nice and strong! Sounds like you're getting round ligament pain, are your clothes getting snug?
> 
> I have booked a private scan for Friday. Today's was nhs and I've found in the past that the private ones are much more accurate as the equipment they use is better. I know I will feel stressed until then but at least the scan on Friday should give me a better idea of whether there's a problem. I've been googling like mad and found lots of people in a similar situation. Seems around 50/50 positive and negative result...

I'm sorry that scan did not go that well. How frustrating to not have a reassuring result :( I would 100% book a private scan (assuming affordable) in your situation. Sending positive vibes and I hope you get some better answers on Friday :) 

I will finally see my GP tomorrow and I'll ask him to give me a referral for a scan, which I'll try to do on Thurs or Fri. I'm not sure but I think I have to pay ~$150 AUD. It will be worth it though to temporarily either put my mind at ease, or find out the worst. My breasts have finally started to feel a tad sore though, so I'm taking that as a marginally good sign. 

I find myself going off a lot of foods but I can still eat most things, thankfully. I've pretty much totally gone off coffee though (which I never did in my other pregnancies), and this morning I had a super strong craving for salt and vinegar chips/crisps! Good thing we didn't have any in the house! 

Dimmu - I agree with JJay, perhaps it's RLP? Or maybe it's too early, I can't remember when the earliest RLPs start. I've had similar feelings when I get up too quickly but I think it's just the uterus complaining to the adjusting/growing.


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## JJay

Hi everyone, 


Eva, good luck at your appointment tomorrow, I hope you get a quick referral for another scan - I think I'd have one every week if I could!


I have also been getting RLP - whenever I stand up to quickly or pick up DD or DS I notice the sharp, pulling pains low down.


I am still feeling nauseous but instead of being put off food I'm suddenly ravenous and want to eat everything in sight! I'm not feeling as tired but that could be down to eating so much and DS sleeping better. Are you managing to beat the insomnia Miss B?


I'm feeling better today. I know that what will be, will be and I am very blessed already. I suppose many would say that seeing the heartbeat on an early scan is a positive thing so I am going to assume that my little squiggle is fine in there and growing all the time - I'm hoping Friday's scan will measure at least 6w4days so I know although behind, everything is growing at the correct rate.


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## Miss Bellum

Pretty productive today, went shopping and got most of our lg Christmas presents. Finally found a tree topper we liked as well so hoping to put our tree up soon. Looking forward to a quiet day at home tomorrow just chilling out. 

Jjay, hope the scan on Friday gives you some reassurance. Glad you are feeling better today. Insomnia does finally seem to be wearing off which is good. Think I will end up starting my days a lot earlier though as my LG wakes at 5:30 and I can get her back to sleep but I stay awake after 

Eva, good luck with the gp hope you get a scan soon. I had strong cravings for salt & vinegar crisps with my first. I found the salt & vinegar snack a jacks helped as a slightly healthier alternative.


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## dimmu

Jjay, glad to hear you are feelin a bit better. Hopefully everything will look as it should on Friday. Just keep on focusing on the positives, like that hearbeat!:)

I agree it must be RLP, didn't realise you can get it so early on but then again my last pregnancy was almost six years ago so maybe I had it then too and have just forgotten. I haven't felt it as much today, just a couple of times in fact.

Sorry to hear you are all feeling nauseous! My nausea has become a way of life now, it's just always there. Eating may provide some shortlived relief but less and less every day. And I still keep going off food, I've already given up coffee and chocolate completely but now crisps and crackers as well which I kept wanting last week. It's almost like if I eat something it puts me off from eating that same thing again, weird. Guess I'll stick to healthy snacks now! Oh and I keep wanting things with eggs, like fried egg sandwich. Oh and I'd love some halloumi with olives and salad but have none in the house and I'm not up for going out to get any!
Anyone else have any cravings?


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## dimmu

Miss B well done for getting so much Christmas shopping done, I've not even made a start yet. :(


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## Miss Bellum

Its much easier to do shopping without a lo in tow! We aren't usually that organised but thought we'd take advange of some time off. Will proably end up ordering the rest from Amazon.


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## dimmu

That's what we really struggle with, time off! Don't really have any family around or anyone to look after DD so we always take her with us everywhere, or alternatively take turns to do stuff separately. Childfree shopping, dinners or cinema just never happens!!

I've got my first midwife appointment today at the local children's centre. Apparently it will take about an hour. Really excited but nervous well!


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## eva1978

dimmu said:


> That's what we really struggle with, time off! Don't really have any family around or anyone to look after DD so we always take her with us everywhere, or alternatively take turns to do stuff separately. Childfree shopping, dinners or cinema just never happens!!
> 
> I've got my first midwife appointment today at the local children's centre. Apparently it will take about an hour. Really excited but nervous well!

I hear you about no family around etc... DH and I are in the same boat. Our families both live on other continents! :-/ At least there is Skype, but it's not quite a substitute. 
When is your midwife appt? Sounds exciting! I had a midwife before but I didn't see her much at all for pre-natal care. She came to visit me (about 10 times) after I had my baby to make sure he was gaining weight etc., and that I got the hang of breastfeeding OK. 

Christmas shopping - good idea about amazon! :) We don't have too many people to buy for at least. I'll be sending some hardcopies of kids' school/daycare photos overseas. 

I saw my GP and he gave me a referral. I'll make an appt tomorrow so hopefully I can have the scan Thurs or Fri. Good luck on Fri, JJay! 

With the salt and vinegar - I did find salt and vinegar rice cakes (from Aldi)... they are not too bad! :) 

I hope everyone is feeling better soon. I feel better this week overall. The nausea is always in the background but I feel much less on the verge of vomiting when I think of eating something off-putting.


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## Miss Bellum

Had a pretty quiet day, feeling quite queasy most of the time now. Hope it passes soon. 

Dimmu - We are pretty lucky really as my parents live close by and are often able to help out. Our LG is in nursery 3 days a week and we do take advantage to have the occasional child free day. Its so hard to try and shop with a toddler in tow! 

Hope your midwife appointment went well.

Eva - Glad your sickness seems to be easing. It must be tough if all your family is so far away. 

Good luck for your scan.


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## dimmu

Eva it's so hard without any family around isn't it! DD is five now and I can count with one hand the times I have had an evening off with DH since she was born. Date nights and such just don't happen. I think the last time I went out for dinner with DH was over a year ago. We tried hiring a babysitter a couple of times but it just works out so expensive and you feel under pressure to get back soon. 

Miss B sorry to hear nausea has now properly caught up with you. I hope it gets better for both of us soon. I'd love to be able to have xmas dinner without feeling queasy/sick!

I had my midwife appointment yesterday. It was actually really nice. It turns out I will be seeing this same community midwife throughout the whole pregnancy and beyond, or possibly another one if she happens to be away. This is such an improvement from my last pregnancy when I never saw the same person twice ever. She took all the bloods etc, and my next appointment with her is already in less than two weeks. Quite surprised it is so soon! Just have to come up with some excuse for work.
Those of you who work, when do you plan to tell your boss if you haven't yet? I was gonna wait until after the 12 week scan but I'm sure they will get suspicious soon with my recurring doc's appointments. And of course the bulging bump is getting harder to hide by the day, hopefully people will just think I've let myself go a bit!:)

Jjay good luck with your scan tomorrow!


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## JJay

I can't imagine what it's like with no family around - it must be so hard. When we were expecting our second we moved 100 miles north to be nearer my family. They don't usually babysit that much but they help out so much as DH works away a lot. They do drop offs and pick ups for me if I've got meetings for work and help out with swimming lessons etc. We use a child minder for babysitting and usually try and have a date night every 2-3 weeks. It does work out more expensive for a night out but then before children we would eat out around 3-4 times a week so it actually works out cheaper now! What we struggle for is overnight babysitters so we've had very few nights away together - although we've got one to look forward to on the 12th December :)


Hope everyone's sickness and nausea is being kept at bay with salt and vinegar crisps! I found some in the cupboard this morning and they worked for around 10 minutes.


I work for myself so don't have to worry about telling my boss but I don't see a reason to wait until 12 weeks. If it was me I would tell ASAP so they are understanding about nausea, time off and frequent toilet breaks. 


Did you have your scan yet Eva? Mine can't come soon enough. I feel OK but haven't been looking at my day by day pregnancy book or any of my apps. I feel like I can't really think about the future until after the scan. I so hope it's good news. I will update tomorrow.


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## Miss Bellum

Had a pretty rough day today and felt queasy all day which meant my poor lg didnt get to do much fun stuff. Hoping to be better tomorrow. 

Dimmu - Great news about your midwife, it is so much nicer when you see the same person all the way through. I was planning on telling my boss after the 12week scan but if this keeps up, its likely I may have to tell them early. 

Jjay - I could really go for a packet of salt & vinegar crisps right now! But I am in the stage where I seem to be constantly eating to avoid feeling so sick. 

Good luck with your scan tomorrow.


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## JJay

Thanks Miss B, sorry you're feeling rubbish - I know how you feel. I've got no energy and just feel sick, tired and bloated all of the time. I feel like I'm being grumpy with DD and DS and no fun!


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## eva1978

Yes good luck for tomorrow JJay! :) Fingers crossed for you! 

I just had my scan a couple of hours ago. It was great. I was feeling very emotional when she showed the little beating heart and told me the measurements (2 cm, about 8w3d, so a day ahead compared to last time). So I feel like I've passed some kind of milestone since last time the bean didn't make it this far. My next scan will be in about 4 weeks. I'm hoping in 2-3 weeks I can find the baby's heartbeat with my own doppler. 

Today I've also been feeling more nauseated... my solution? I just ate a chocolate bar :shrug: lol. Didn't really help though! (maybe for 5 mins)! 

Miss B - sorry you've had a rough time. It's much harder keeping the little ones entertained when you feel bad/so tired. Many times during the day I just can't wait until bedtime! I'm sure DH thinks I'm being super boring these days, haha. 

Dimmu - your midwife appt sounds like it went great! 
I so far have not told my boss about this pregnancy, but I did tell him about the last one when it was still early (I think I was only 6 weeks). He was extremely supportive and understanding when I told him I had lost the baby. I figured this time I'd wait a bit longer to save him thinking about things until it's likely this pregnancy will be a healthy one. I think I'll still hold off until the new year, unless it happens to come up before that for some reason (doubt it though since I never see him). I personally think you should tell your boss when you feel ready/comfortable. 

About the no family around - yep, I get jealous of friends who have family/friends to help out with their kids! Not just so that DH and I can have *one night off* but also just to be closer to family on a regular basis. At some stage we might consider getting an Au Pair to help with drop offs/pick ups etc., but we don't have the house for that at the moment. I currently only work 3 days/week so it's manageable... but if I ever go back full-time then it will be next to impossible without extra help.


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## JJay

Congratulations on a good scan Eva :) sounds like everything is perfect! It's so comforting when you can whip out the Doppler whenever you're feeling a bit anxious. I've seen a few threads here where people have found the heartbeat at 8-9 weeks. It was always been around 10 weeks for me. 

Thanks for all the good wishes for my scan. It's made me feel slightly better but I am still nervous. It went better than Monday, she found the sac immediately with an abdominal scanner and we saw the little blob and heartbeat straight away. She said everything looks as it should for a 6-7 week baby and she measured at 6+3 which is even further behind Monday :( I told her how worried I was and she tried to reassure me saying that it's really easy to be out on an early scan. She explained that the shape of the baby is not very defined at this stage and measuring is much easier at 9+ weeks when the lines are smoother and not just a fuzzy blob. She measured another couple of times and got 6+5 and 6+6 but I'm not sure how f she was trying to make the measurements as big as possible to appease me! She did say she could take measurements all day long and they would vary each time. 

I guess I am cautiously optimistic and at least I've not got too long to wait until my next scan which is on the 19th.


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## JJay

Here are the pics at 6+3 and 6+5
 



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## JJay

Ooops only the 6+5 attached. Here is the 6+3
 



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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - I pretty much feel how you feel. Its rubbish isn't it? Hope we both feel better soon. Today was a bit better, I did actually make it out of the house. Sounds like the scan was fairly positive and at least you dont have long to go until the next one. Great scan pics. 

Eva - Great news on the scan, its lovely to hear the hb. I think I'm the same as well, not able to do as much and sleeping as much as I can!. Sorry to hear you are suffering from nausea as well, hope it passes soon.


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## eva1978

Getting out of the house indeed tends to help, so hard to do sometimes though (when the opportunity to lie down presents itself)! 

JJay - I'm so glad your scan went a bit better than the time before. Is there a different clinic with more modern equipment you can try to switch to - or is that complicated? I guess in a couple weeks the measurements will get easier, and should be more reassuring! 

Hope everyone is feeling ok over the weekend. We might go cut our xmas tree... Where we live there are many non-native pine trees that are considered invasive and bad for bush fires... we're actually encouraged to cut them down!


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## dimmu

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a nice weekend.
Sorry for not being around much, it's been quite a busy weekend and whenever I have some time for myself I haven't got much energy for anything, not even for typing. A couple of times this week I've gone to bed at 8 pm, how sad is that! And the constant nausea is just exhausting. The only thing that helps is eating, but I don't seem to fancy any foods these days, not even crisps or things like that. Even vomiting offers no relief, I still do that but not much comes up if anything, sorry TMI!

JJay- sorry to hear the second scan offered little reassurance. But at least you've seen the bean there and that heart is beating! I hope the next one will bring some better news. 

Miss B - have you been feeling any better? It's hard to try and do stuff with your child when you're feeling queasy and horrible. I took DD to a birthday party yesterday and it was such hard work, really didn't want to go. She had a great time thankfully so that made her day a lot nicer, but I really wasn't up for socialising with the other parents and all they had on offer for drinks was wine, beer and kids' juice drinks! I couldn't have any of those so felt quite exhausted towards the end, and nauseous as well.

Eva- congrats on your great scan! That's such good news.
It is hard without any family to help isn't it. We have also considered au pair in the past but I think our flat is just too small for that, would have to share the bathroom and everything, there just wouldn't be any escape. 

I have told a couple of people at work but not my boss. He's quite observant (some would say sleazy, he's always eyeing people up and down) so I'm surprised he hasn't noticed anything yet. I've asked one of my colleague who knows I'm pregnant to tell me if he mentions anything to her or asks any questions. 
To make things worse we have the work xmas party next week. :( I'm not a fan of the event anyway, but this time I'm dreading it. I was gonna maybe let them pour me a glass of wine and just have a sip or two and hope that no one notices if I don't have any more than that. Then might just use DD as an excuse to leave early.. 

Anyway, hope you are all feeling better today.


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## Miss Bellum

Eva - we put our tree up this weekend too. 

Dimmu - Sorry you are having such a rough time of it, hope you are feeling better soon. I think I am feeling a bit better, still eating a fair bit though. 

Cant believe the party hosts didnt have any non-alcoholic options for adults, I always try to have something for non-drinkers/drivers etc. 

Its my Christmas party next week as well. I think I will drive in as that gives me a ready made excuse not to drink. However when I was pregnant with Elllie, I didnt drink and no-else even noticed!


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## dimmu

I know I couldn't believe it! We always offer soft drinks and even tea and coffee to our guests. I think this group of people, DD's classmates parents, seem to like their drink. Quite a few of them are part of the parent teacher association at the school, and they are known for their boozy pub nights and events! Still inconsiderate not to have anything other than alcohol at a kids' party, there were muslim families as well so not sure what they offered to them.

I think I will just pretend to have some wine at the work xmas do, and hopefully no one will notice if I don't actually drink it. They always do lunch followed by lots of drinking until early hours, think I will just say I have to get DD from school as DH has to work late or something. Wish I didn't have to go at all!!!


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## Holliems

JJay, that happened with my first pregnancy. I went in expecting to see arms and legs and baby was two weeks behind and was a blob. Shes 14 now! So, I dont think you have any reason to worry. (Easier said than done, I know!!)


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## eva1978

Nice to hear sometimes discouraging scans turn out to be completely fine! 

dimmu - so sorry for your being sick constantly. I hope it starts to ease off sooner than later! I'm lucky that my nausea has been pretty "at bay". It's constantly there -- less so in evenings -- but it's usually not so distracting that it ruins my day. 
That is strange about the drinks! Did they offer you water at least? We like our wine/beer but always have something other than booze to offer. It's just part of being a good host! 

Miss B - good excuse with the DD for the xmas party :) I'll probably do the same though we literally live 2 mins drive from work, and I know some people will still think it's strange if I don't drink at all. I'm thinking of telling a close work colleague next week (a good friend). If others happen to figure it out, so be it. I think most people won't be paying attention. I also thought of having a glass of wine and taking a couple sips but then casually passing it on to DH to finish the job! 

JJay - last time I forgot to comment on your doppler comment. So some people hear the HB at home as early as 8 weeks? I might give it a go later in the week, but I know I could drive myself more crazy if I don't find the heartbeat (which is more than likely at this stage).


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## JJay

Hollie you got your bfp!!!! Hurray and congratulations so pleased you're joining us here :) thank you for the scan reassurance. Did you know your ovulation date? I had my first midwife appointment today and she was also reassuring saying a 6+ week baby with a heartbeat on a scan is a good thing. Of course I am still worried anyway and finding it hard to think about the future at the moment. The midwife wanted to date me edd 27th July as a worst case so 10 days behind my lmp date. I am becoming crazy scan lady and have booked another for Saturday as I've found a place that does them for £50. So only 5 days to wait until that and then I have one booked for the 19th too. 

Eva, yes I've seen threads on here where people have found the heartbeat prior to 9 weeks. With DD and DS it was around 10 weeks for me but I don't remember trying much earlier than that. Let me know if you decide to give it a go. 

I am meeting colleagues for Christmas drinks on Friday - I will tell them as they will guess anyway as soon as I don't have a glass of wine in my hand. There are only 4 of us who work together so it would be difficult to fake drink. We are meeting in Yorkshire so I'm staying in a hotel so no driving excuse either! On the Saturday I'm having a 10 course tasting menu which usually comes with a wine flight so I will also be spelling the beans to our friends that night too! I don't really mind though as its nice to have support of things don't work out. 

Much as I love my wine it sounds strange to only offer alcohol at a children's party! We usually just have tea coffee and soft drinks! 

Miss B how are you feeling, are you managing to get out of the house? I had a bad day yesterday and ended up sleeping for a couple of hours in the afternoon.


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## Holliems

JJ- Thanks! Still hard to believe. No, I didn't know my O date with my daughter. I went off of last period. With my second daughter they changed my due date twice because of how she measured. I think being pregnant is scary. Id be getting scans constantly too if I could get them cheap!


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## Miss Bellum

Hi all hope everyone's had a good day. Back to work for me, boo! Was just getting used to being a lady of leisure. Still feeling nausea but it does seem to be easing off and is easier to ignore. 

Dimmu - How crazy! Would occur to me to serve lots of booze at a kids party! 

Holliems - Congrats & welcome! I'd love to keep having scans too if I could afford it 

Eva - I won't use a doppler for that exact reason! 

Jjay - Great news about your midwife appointment. 50 is a great price for a scan. The menu testing sounds like great fun. 

I'm feeling much better thanks, yesterday did a bit more shopping, got to the gym as well. Back to work today boo.


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## eva1978

Did anyone have their Christmas/work party yet? Mine isn't until next weekend. Let us know how it goes! :) 

I haven't tried the doppler yet. DH is working most of the next several nights though so perhaps I'll try sometime one of these evenings (when I have 30 mins of quiet, after the kids are in bed). 

I'm 9 weeks today. Suddenly started feeling noticeably better... which is kind of a relief though of course has me a tad worried. I actually had a whole cappuccino today - haven't done that in several weeks! I hope everyone's sickness is starting to get better (or will soon)! 

JJay - your next scan is in a few days, isn't it? 
I saw my GP today and asked for another referral for a scan in case I want one before my 12 week scan (which is Dec. 30). It was kind of like pulling teeth to get it from him... but he eventually gave it to me! I don't know why he was resisting... he seemed worried about medicare auditing him or something. I told him I can pay the full price ($170) - I just want some (even more) peace of mind. Sheesh!


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## dimmu

Hi everyone and welcome along Holliems, big congratulations!! I think I remember seeing you on the TTC threads, glad you could join us here!! :) 

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately, my MS and other symptoms have peaked, or at least so I hope, and I feel drained all the time. Nausea is there all day long, thankfully the vomiting has a certain pattern and isn't there the whole day, it seems to peak in the morning when I get to work and then again in the evening when I get home. Maybe it has something to do with my commute! 

I have my private scan this Saturday, feeling excited but at the same time very nervous. I just keep telling myself and all this nausea and MS must be a good thing. I'm also super bloated now, at this rate I'm gonna have to start wearing maternity clothes soon. The fatigue is pretty bad as well, I can't seem to stay awake past 9 pm and would go to bed at 7 pm if I could!

So how is everyone else? Glad to hear you nausea is better Miss B. Such a shame you have to be back at work now, wouldn't it be nice just to have some time off and sleep all day!!
Eva I don't have a doppler, I've thought about it but think as you said it would probably just drive me mad and make me feel even more anxious. 

JJay good luck with your next scan, glad you found somewhere that does it so cheap!


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## TLK

Hi everyone, can I join this lovely group? 

I just turned 39 and am cautiously expecting my second. In the past 2 1/2 years I have had 2 miscarriages so I am still very nervous about this one. I think I am 6 weeks pregnant. I have my first ultrasound next Monday. After a year of trying for #2 we decided to go the IVF route and have been successful so far. I have had bleeding/spotting for the past week. Mostly when I wipe and no cramps. I had an ultrasound last week that couldn't confirm where the bleeding was coming from. Basically, the doctor told me to wait until next week and we will no more then. I am feeling rather nauseous, actually it's more like the feeling that I need to burp all the time. No puking thank goodness. And super tired. I've been going to be almost immediately after my 2 years old. 

How is everybody else doing?


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## dimmu

Welcome TLK and congratulations! :)

It's such a nerve-wrecking time the whole first trimester. Sorry to hear about you previous losses, hopefully this one is your sticky bean! From what I understand bleeding is relatively common during the first trimester. It's definitely a good sign that there's no cramping. Good luck with Your scan!

Eva I only saw your message now, we managed to post at the same time! That's great that you are feeling better! I think things start improving to a lot of people around 9-10 weeks so you're spot on. Mine is still pretty full on. I keep eating to keep it at bay but I still feel dreadful and evenings are the worst.
I have my work xmas do today. It willl start with a lunch followed by drinking and dancing - great.. I've decided to have some wine with the lunch but only pretend to drink it. Hopefully after lunch no one will be paying any attention to what I'm having. Gonna use DD as an excuse and leave early around 4.30pm.


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## JJay

Welcome And Congrats TLC! The waiting is horrid isn't it - when is your scan?

Miss B and Eva glad to hear you're both feeling better. Dimmu sorry you're still feeling ropey. I hope the work party wasn't too much of a trial. Mine is tomorrow night. 

I've been feeling stressed and am still taking it a day at a time and not thinking of the future. I've been feeling rough and very tired and am trying to keep myself busy with Christmas wrapping etc to keep me away from Google. I can't wait to get my scan over and done with on Saturday- surely this one must be more conclusive. If baby measures 7+5 or more I think I will start to feel better. 

Like a lunatic I tried using my Doppler today even though I know it's way early. I tried really low - on my section scar and actually picked up something around 135-140 a few times, for a few seconds each time. It seems too early so I know it likely wasn't baby but it seemed quite comforting anyway! Eva have you tried yours yet?

Dimmu did you say your scan is this weekend?


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## Miss Bellum

Hi ladies, hope everyone is OK. 

Eva - Glad you are feeling better. Hope you get another scan soon. My work party is tomorrow. I'm quite looking forward to it. Its being held @bristol and they are having a 3d star show which should be fun. 

Dimmu - Sorry to hear you are still feeling so rough, hope it gets better soon. Maybe the commute is unsettling you. Not long till your scan, good luck! I know what you mean about the tiredness - I'd planned to tidy the house this afternoon ready for the babysitter tomorrow but ended dozing on the sofa instead. Hope you have fun at your work do today. 

Hi TLK, congrats on your bean! Fingers crossed for you, hope the scan shows good news. I get really tired too and its hard when you have a LO around. 

JJ - Good luck for your scan on Saturday. Its my work do tomorrow as well. Hope yours is fun. Glad your doppler was reassuring.


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## dimmu

Hello how is everyone? 
I have my scan today, feeling really nervous. I really hope it's good news and all this MS and suffering hasn't been for nothing. I guess I'll find out in a few hours.

My work xmas party didn't go that well. My boss noticed I wasn't really having my drink and said something about that to the office gossip who then proceeded to speak about to one of the two people I've told, my "spy", I have asked her to tell me if anyone starts suspecting anything. I'm sure everyone will be suspecting something soon now.:( Not quite sure how to handle this, whether to just officially tell them if the scan is ok or just leave it until after the 12 week can.So annoyed with my boss, why did he have to speak with that girl.

My MS is still pretty full on, although feeling ok this morning. I'm sure it won't last though. I also get really bloated during the day and look five months pregnant by 6 pm, guess that's normal..

Good luck with your scan today JJay!


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## JJay

:happydance:

All caught up, so relieved!

Wishing you a good scan too Dimmu X
 



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## dimmu

Jjay that's brilliant, such a relief!! :)

I just had mine and everything is looking as it should. Measured 9w1d so two days less than I thought, heart rate 174 bpm. So happy!:)


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## JJay

Yay Dimmu that's lovely news! Our heartbeat was 173 so very similar! I am so relieved - I'm definitely not planning any more after this one but I wouldn't have such an early scan again, they're obviously not that accurate and it just caused me to worry. 

Sorry your party didn't go too well, I ended up telling one colleague who had guessed anyway as soon as I ordered a lime and soda. How was your party Miss B?

Eva have you had another scan yet? 

How are you doing TLk?


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## dimmu

Glad to hear the heart rate is almost the same! Trying to upload a pic from my phone, it's not very clear but you can see a little arm and leg buds, the baby was waving its arms, so amazing how developed they are so early on!

Sorry the picture is enormous but can't work out how to make it smaller on my phone!


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## JJay

Wow Dimmu your pic is amazing! So clear, it's lovely to be able to see arms and legs. Mine is much blurrier- I have a feeling that might be something to do with my mummy tummy. The tech also commented that my bladder didn't seem very full - even though I felt like I was bursting! She said she could see baby wiggling but I didn't see it.


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## Miss Bellum

Evening ladies hope everyone is well. 

Left LG with my auntie last night so OH & I could go to our work parties. I loved the planetarium show found it very entertaining. The drinks left something to be desired though, it was champagne or water. The party started at 7 and they didnt open the bar until 9 and then the only soft drink available was coke. Pretty lousy for non-drinkers! I just told everyone I drove in case I needed to leave quickly and no-one really paid any attention. 

The food was a bit weird - it was a buffet with some hot turkey/ham and potatoes then salad, cold rice, cheese crackers and bread. No veggies at all! Had to dash out early though as my LG was having a melt down and screamed for an hour! My aunt did her best but she was worried LG would make herself ill. In all honesty I was pretty pleased to have an excuse to slope off early. 

Dimmu - Hope the scan when OK. shamethe party didnt go so well. I do wonder why your boss felt the need to comment on your not-drinking to anyone else. Sorry you are still having ms - I had a fairly rough today as well. Lets hope its clears for us both soon. 

Great news the scan showed everything was ok, must be so reassuring. What a fab picture. 

JJ - Fab news, so pleased the scan shows everything is ok xx Aside from telling your colleague, hope your party was fun. Mine wasnt so great, but at least I got to see the planetarium show.


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## eva1978

Hi everyone, sorry for my silence the last few days. DH has been working nights all this week so I'm mostly on my own with the kids... since he needs to sleep during much of the day. That + feeling the pregnancy hormones making me extra tired has been a bit draining. So glad I'm not feeling too ill on top of all of that (just a bit nauseated). 

Welcome TLK! I hope you can get some results soon for reassurance. Hugs. 

Dimmu - ugh sorry about the party experience. I can't believe your boss... how nosey! I hope it doesn't lead to any annoying drama/stress at work for you. Sorry you still feel so rotten, too :( Your scan pic looks great though!!! 

JJay - yay your scan also looks awesome! Congrats! It must feel quite relieving :) 

Miss B - no veggies at the dinner? What? LOL! What did they show at the planetarium show? Sounds pretty cool. 

I did try my doppler a couple of nights ago. After careful slow moving around my lower abdomen I found the HB! It was pretty faint and only had it for about a minute but HB was around 160 bpm. Felt so good to find it :) of course I want to try again now... since I just had a small glob of brown cm when I went to the bathroom (TMI). No cramping, and I know it's normal to spot a bit of brown in the first trimester, but I didn't do that with my two kids so I'm just a tad nervous about it. Hopefully I can find the HB again today/tonight once kids are in bed. 

No I didn't have another scan yet, but I think I'll make an appt for this week. At that stage if all is OK I might tell my dad who will be visiting in late December. He knows about my previous miscarriage (as do my in-laws), but this time we've decided to wait a bit longer before letting anyone know. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!


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## eva1978

Just a quick update - DH took the boys shopping so I could have a bit of time to myself. I managed to find the HB again, yay :) The doppler measures around 150 bpm (hard to get a lock)... but when I measure the rate myself using sound + a timer, I get around 175 bpm - close to JJay and dimmu! :)


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## Miss Bellum

Eva - Sounds pretty tiring! Glad you are feeling pretty well. Great news on the HB. In the planetarium, you sit inside a giant dome and they bring up 3-D images of the stars, galaxies and planets. They showed us where stars are born, their toddler years, middle age and end of their life. They also showed us the surface of Jupiter and its moons along with some of the more well know constellations.


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## dimmu

Hello everyone, apologies again that I'm not that active here these days. My nausea and MS is still pretty relentless and I seem to have very low energy levels, just tired all the time, even typing is too much!!

Miss B, the planetarium sounds cool, just a shame about the food and drink! Glad to hear your nausea is now under control. Did you have your booking in yet? 

Eva, that's great about the heartbeat! Have you had any more brown cm? It's pretty common to have it during the first trimester I understand. When's your next scan? 

I keep getting lots of little twinges and short stabby pains in my tummy, I guess that's still round ligament pain. It seems to come when I sit still for a long time, or if I do something sudden like sneeze really hard. 
I had my second midwife appointment today, but that was just for the results of the blood tests so took like five minutes. The next appointment will be my 12 week scan on new year's day. 
I really wish my nausea would get better by xmas but not having my hopes up, it just would be so nice to be able to enjoy all the food without feeling sick. I also don't know how I'm gonna be able to cope with cooking, just can't do it these days. Poor DD is living on ready meals and easy pasta dishes, although she doesn't seem to mind!! We ate out over the weekend as well as I just didn't have the energy/will to cook, not really helping with my plans to save lots of money before I start maternity leave!!!!


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## Miss Bellum

My first baby brain moment today! Dropped LG off at nursery today and was so pleased it went well, she was happy & smiling. Went to collect her this evening and found our buggy was soaking wet where it had been left out in the rain. OH was pretty annoyed and spoke to the staff as thought someone had pulled out our buggy by mistake and left it. However it turned out that I left it out this morning and it was noticed by a staff in the afternoon and put away to prevent it getting wetter. Oops! :blush:


Dimmu - Sorry to hear you are still having a rough time of it, hope you are feeling better soon. 

I had a pre-booking appointment but it was pretty much a waste of time, just going through some leaflets. I dont get my booking appointment until January when I will be 11 weeks. At least I was able to put in my scan request though. The other ladies at the session werent so lucky! 

Its tough to try and cook when you feel poorly. Hopefully you can make up it up in 2nd trimester. It does get pricey to eat out a lot.


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## JJay

Hi everyone,

Haha love your baby brain story Miss B! Mine has never recovered from DD and DS - I'm always forgetting things. 11 weeks seems late for your booking appointment but at least you might get your scan date through before Christmas:) 

Eva, so exciting you're hearing the hb on your Doppler - I think I might try mine again this week. The original scan I booked is Saturday morning but I don't feel the need for it after just having one last weekend. I've paid £30 deposit but will save £69 if we don't go. If I can get the hb on my Doppler I think I'll give it a miss. 

Sorry to hear you're still feeling rotten Dimmu. I am also getting the round ligament pain and I've noticed my clothes are getting tighter. I can't hold my tummy in as I get the ligament pain and am so bloated most of the time that I look around 4 months pregnant already and am having to go for floaty tops and leggings. 

I've been thinking a lot about the NIPT testing. A clinic bearish to me does the UK versions IONA and genisis for £395 and results are back in 3-5 days. I'm thinking of going for it next week. I was going to wait and see what happened at the 12 week scan but I'm thinking it will likely come back highish risk due to my age and then I'll probably get the test done anyway but have the worry in between.


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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - Its hard to know what to do for the best with tests. Last time, mine came back as high risk and I was so stressed by it. We talked it over and decided we would want to give our lo a chance whatever the risk and didnt want to take chances with further investigations. Having got to that conclusion last time, we decided as our views havent changed we wont bother with tests at all and will just have a dating scan. But I can see why it would be good to know about any potential issues earlier to have more time to consider how to deal with them. Good luck what ever you decide.


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## dimmu

Haha loving the baby brain story Miss B! Shame that the pre booking appointment was a waste of time. :(

JJay I'm the same with the extra test, feeling quite torn. I was gonna wait until after the NHS scan and decide based on that, but the clinic where I had my viability scan last week does a bundle deal where you can have the viability + harmony done for £400 but you have to do them before 11 weeks. If you wait until after 12 weeks it's gonna cost £500 for harmony alone. DH is quite keen to get it done, he works for social services and says there has been so many funding cuts with disabled and people with learning difficulties in recent years. He's worried we actually couldn't cope with a disabled child as we have no family here to support us and we both have to work to pay the mortgage etc.

ETA: I think I've decided against the Harmony test at this point. We could just do without the extra cost right now, and I'm also struggling to find the time to have it done before 11 weeks. I think that if the results from the NT scan are alarming I'll look into perhaps having the panorama test done which is supposed to be even more accurate.
Do you happen to know if we as more mature expecting mothers will automatically get a "high risk" result from the NHS scan because of our age?


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## JJay

It's a difficult one and I've been in two minds as well. We didn't do any testing with DD and DS as I wasn't aware of harmony etc and didn't want to do an amino or CVS so decided against the NT scan in case I got a high risk result and then worried for the remaining 6 months! 

My risk for downs at 39 is 1:110. At 12 weeks (if you want) they will test blood and measure nuchal fold. The way I understand it is that if these come back as average then the risk would remain 1:110 however if any are higher than normal the risk would increase, lower than normal and the risk would look better. Anything over 1:150 is classed as high risk so even with average results I will already be high risk. I guess it makes no difference really as if there is something wrong it's already decided so these are just figures!

I had decided to go for the NT testing this time and then get harmony if I was worried by the figures, however I've now decided to save myself the potential worry and get the testing done ASAP. Im booked in next Wednesday afternoon for bloods and hope to have the replay the following week. Hopefully will get the all clear and if so I will probably not bother with the NT at all.


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## Holliems

Hey everyone! Just got done reading the thread from start to finish! Whew! It's a long one. :laugh2: 

Time is going by so slow for me. I've been super nervous about this pregnancy. Maybe because of my age? Maybe because on this site, m/c seems to happen quite often. I don't remember what it feels like to be pregnant so I analyze every twinge or lack of symptoms. So far, no ms. And I've been having a dull ache around my right ovary for days. Last night I had pretty strong AF cramps. My first scan is at 7 weeks. It can't come soon enough!


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## Miss Bellum

Hi everyone hope you are all well. Still feeling sick a lot and think I am coming down with a cold boo :(

Dimmu - Its such a tough choice to make and the tests are so expensive. They do automatically rate you higher rate the older you are. With my first, the NT fold was actually not too bad but my age bumped me into high risk, 1:40. Turned out to be fine. 

Jjay - Good luck with the scan, hope it can help put your mind at rest. 

Holliems - I know a few ladies in real life who discovered losses at 9 & 12 weeks and it does make you worry. I think on-line there are so many more ladies that it seems like there are a lot more losses. First trimester is always difficult. At least you dont have long to wait for a scan, hope it goes well for you.


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## eva1978

Holliems good luck on your upcoming scan. Those first 6-8 weeks are indeed some of the toughest emotionally I think. I also think that more ladies share their stories about losses vs. those with normal pregnancies. If everything is going great (or at least you think it is) you're less likely to google things and wind up at places like this :) (which are great... but yes, a lot of freaky/sad stories). 

JJay let us know if you have luck with the doppler HB! The first couple of times it took me 10-15 mins but just now I found it in 10 seconds! Just hard to get a lock on it. I'm 10w1d. All the best for your booking coming up. So far no more scans booked until Dec 30. 
When I was 35 and preggo with DS2 I did some tests for genetic issues, and the probability came back very low (about 1/2000.... the "age" probability was about 1/250). So I guess it depends on the tests they do, but with certain tests maternal age *does not* automatically put you in the high-risk category. 
Miss Bellum wow 1/40 seems crazy and must have been very stressful... great that all turned out to be fine. Sorry about the wet buggy! 

dimmu - I also get some pain when I sneeze or move suddenly. I'm also finding it hard to get energized to cook a full-on meal. I'm lucky DH likes to cook! Hope you start feeling better before that Christmas meal! 

Is anyone doing a big holiday dinner/feast? We haven't planned anything yet.... should probably get on that!


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## Miss Bellum

Eva - We are going to my mum's for Christmas so can take things fairly easy. Just need to get cracking on the wrapping.


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## dimmu

We have my two aunts staying over, one of them has two little dogs as well so will be a full house as our place is only small. I'm kind of hoping they'd take care of most of the cooking as I'm really not feeling it, still too nauseous. Haven't done any food shopping yet, gonna have to do that this weekend.


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## JJay

Hi everyone, we've got a busy time coming up. DH and I are both out at separate things tonight. Monday we go to center parcs for 2 nights then to the inlaws and back home on Christmas Eve afternoon. We're going to my parents on Christmas afternoon. Lots of traveling around but I'm happy driving as I can't drink anyway and at least I have no cooking to do! I'm planning to stock the fridge with m&s party food tomorrow to keep us going over the holidays. 

I decided not to bother with the scan today and save the £69 though I have been feeling a little wobbly as I can't find the hb on my Doppler. I found it with DS from 9 weeks. I know it is still early so I'm trying not to stress. I think I'll have another go later. 

Does anyone else feel huge? All of a sudden i look very pregnant.


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## dimmu

Jjay you seem to have a very busy schedule, sounds like fun!
I'm gonna be working all the way until December 24th, have my aunts here to look after DD and I want to carry over some holidays for next year. 

That's exactly why I'm refusing to buy a doppler, I think it would just cause me more worry rather than reassure me.

I look quite big now as well, or I have a definite bloat bump! It still goes flat when I lie down. I think I'm gonna have to get some maternity clothing soon, all my jeans are getting a bit tight around the waist. I'm sure with DD I could wear my normal jeans until four months or so.


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## JJay

:happydance: I found it! Feel better now 

Four months is great to still fit in your jeans! I was in maternity stuff from around 11 weeks with DD and sooner with DS. I am 5'5" but with long legs and a short torso so I think there is no where to go but out! I put weight easily on my tummy too so that probably contributes. Last time around I measured 40 weeks by the time I was 30 weeks so I expect I'll be huge again.


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## JJay

I forgot to mention I got my official scan date through for 14th January. Seems like ages away! I will be 13+4


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## Holliems

JJay what kind of Doppler are you using? I think I'm going to buy one after my first scan. Although it'll still be a little to early to use it..


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## JJay

It says Hi-Bebe Bistos on it xx


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## Holliems

I was looking at getting one of those but they're a little pricey. My DH would throw a fit. ...Might get it anyway :laugh2: When did you first pick up a hb?


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## dimmu

Jjay brilliant, glad to hear you found it!!:)
I'm just an inch shorter than you but I have a long torso so more space I suppose! I carried DD really low though, she engaged very early on, so I also looked huge by the time I was 30 weeks or so!


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## Miss Bellum

JJ - sounds like a busy time but lots of fun! Even my midwife had trouble finding a hb at times so I'm sure there is nothing to worry about. My OH thinks I have a little bump already. I think he might be right but I find it hard to tell as I have had a bit of belly for a while. Great news that you have a scan date. I'm sure it will be hear before you know it. 

Dimmu - I'm sure I wore my normal clothes pretty much all through out pregnancy number 1 but I think I may need to buy new stuff for this one.


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## JJay

Hollie today is the first time I picked up the heartbeat! I have only tried a couple of times before though. I picked it up at 9 weeks with DS. I bought it when I was pregnant with DD and have used it each time and also lent it out in between so I've had my monies worth! 

Dimmu wow 30 weeks is early to engage - that must have been uncomfortable. I don't really know what it feels like as both of mine were back to back and high up. Neither engaged which maybe why I struggled and ended up with 2 sections. 

Miss B, you are lucky to have gotten away with your own clothes. I have a friend like that who is very tall and slim and didn't need to buy maternity clothes. 

It will be lovely when we're all further along and can compare bump pics :)


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## dimmu

Jjay yes it was very uncomfortable, especially towards the end, I had so many things going on in my nether regions! Nothing serious but oh so uncomfortable and at times embarrassing as well! I wonder if this baby will be the same, not sure if that's how it works.

Miss B that's so impressive if you managed to use your usual clothes throughout the pregnancy! I'm definitely gonna have to get some maternity stuff soon, new jeans for sure. I can see myself living in leggings and floaty dresses in the months to come.

Yesterday was the first day in ages that I wasn't sick at all. I was still nauseous, especially towards the evening, but wondering if my MS might have peaked now. I really can't remember when exactly it ended with DD. 
I'm having to get up to use the toilet 2-3 times every night, With DD this only happened during the last trimester when she was comfortably settled on my bladder. Anyone else had this? I don't seem to be any more frequent than usual during the day.

How are you all getting on with your Christmas preparations? I got all my veggies from the local farmers' market yesterday. Still need to shop for meat, cheeses and chutneys etc and some presents next week!


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## Miss Bellum

Another day of MS - will be glad when this is over. Had a really fun day though, we met up with our NCT group which was lovely. Since it is probably the last time we will all be together, we did break the news to them all. A few of them are moving to different parts of the country so it will be harder to keep in touch. 

Also got my parents to babysit so we got to go & see Star Wars, which I enjoyed. 

Jjay - sadly I&#8217;m not tall and think, it&#8217;s just I have a tenancy to wear quite loose fitting tops/dresses and so I had a bit of extra room! 

Hope this one engages for you to give you an easier time of it. 

dimmu - leggings & dresses is my usual wardrobe choice which is probably why I found it easy first time round!

Glad your MS seems to be easing. With my first, I did end up getting up to use the loo 3 or 4 times a night as well, its really tedious! 

I have one or two more prezzies to get and still have to wrap everything. Luckily I am going to my parents for lunch so don&#8217;t need to worry about much!


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## eva1978

Hi everyone, 

sounds like you are all getting closer to being ready for Christmas time/celebrations! We just started wrapping presents today (only 2, lol). Still need to buy some things though... I'm working until the 22nd so hopefully can get that done on the 23rd. We won't see any family until my dad comes to visit at the end of the month, so it'll be pretty low-key all around. We might go camping for a night! 

JJay - that is SUPER you found the HB! :) Where was it approx? Mine has been a bit to my right side, but the last couple of times it took me longer to find it... I think he/she move a bit? I had to use a different angle to catch the noise. I also had to have 2 c-sections... my first baby never engaged either. Do you think you're going to have to go for a c-section this time, too? 

Miss Bellum, amazing about no maternity clothes before! :) I guess like you say it depends a bit on what you wear normally, but still - impressive! Great that you got out for a movie date :) 

When I used to live in Europe I found a lot of good stuff (particularly jeans) at Noppies. A bit pricey but I find the stuff to be very good quality and I was able to wear things all through my 2nd and 3rd tris. I didn't get very big with DS1 (he was born a month early), was a bit bigger with DS2! (full term). I also ordered some maternity clothes online from ASOS and I was happy with most of it! 

Dimmu, congrats on starting to feel a bit better! Hopefully it starts to be a trend! 

I find I get up to pee in the night on average twice. I try not to drink too much water before bed but it's been over 30 degrees here! But I know I shouldn't really be complaining. Last couple of days the kids have had some gastro so we had a rough night, but luckily things seem to have settled down now! 

We did tell our parents about the pregnancy. My dad was pretty excited, I think my in-laws are being cautious about being optimistic, which I totally understand! Very few people know other than our parents. Is anyone planning a special Christmas or New Years announcement?


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## JJay

Hi everyone! Hope Christmas preparations are going well. We are at center parcs and feeling very Christmassy. We go from here direct to the clinic on Wednesday for my serenity test, then to the inlaws and back home Christmas Eve so I stayed up late last night to get all of the wrapping finish (and watch the apprentice final) 

Dimmu, glad to hear your ms is getting better. I am also peeing a couple of times a night now. I keep trying to ignore it and go back to sleep but I keep waking up until I finally give in and go! I guess it's only going to get worse. 

Miss B Was Star Wars amazing? I can't wait to see it. We have a babysitter available 1-3rd Jan so I'm going to try and get seats for one of those days. We are also going to my mum and dads for lunch and dinner on Christmas Day so will be more relaxing. 

Eva, I found the hb to the right side too, around half way between my bikini line and tummy button, which was a little higher than I thought which is why it maybe took me a while. I haven't brought my Doppler away with me so will try again when I'm home on Christmas Eve. I am definitely going for another section this time. I agonised over whether or not to last time round as DS was estimated to be 10-11lb and was back to back through my whole pregnancy. I was worried a vbac would end in disaster. As I went 12 days over due without a contraction I decided to book in for a repeat section and it was fine so I am going to book straight in this time. Have you decided what you're doing? 

I think we will announce after next scan on 14th Jan assuming our tests come back clear. So will be 13+4 although we've already told family and a few close friends


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## Miss Bellum

Had our team meal today and we went to a local Italian restaurant. The food was much better than our main company party! Had a really nice time. 

Eva - Hope you can get everything done on the 23rd. The 23rd is my last day in work but luckily I dont have much left to do. How lovely to be able tell your parents, your dad sounds very sweet. I have already told some friends/family as I like to be able to tell people in person. Probably wont do a reveal until we have a scan picture.

JJay - Centre parks sounds lovely great chance to relax before Christmas. I thought Star Wars was great. I really enjoyed it and Im not the biggest fan in the world. Hope you get a chance to see it in the New Year. We were keen on getting to see it before encountering any spoilers. Hope your scan comes back all clear


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## eva1978

JJay that's cool you'll have a sitter for early Jan - good time to see a movie! :) 
Miss Bellum that's nice to know Star Wars was quite good even coming from a non major fan. I'm also not a huge fan - DH and I can take it or leave it - but we may be able to get my dad to sit one night while we go see a late movie in the new year. No idea what's playing right now... haven't been to a movie in ages! 

JJay - wow yes... I imagine going overdue with a large baby (and already one c-section under your belt) makes natural birth seem all the more scary. I still haven't seen an OB (it's been difficult to speak to someone to make an appointment), so no decision yet. I would like to try for VBAC but I think having done 2 sections already it will be too risky/almost impossible to find an OB who would give it the OK. Last time I went into labour but needed a section anyway... this time they might not let me get that far! 
Good luck on your serenity test! 

Miss B glad you had a nice team meal! Sounds good! Hope your last day of work before Christmas goes well, too!


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## mitchnorm

Hi ladies.....can I tentatively join you? I have been reading for a few days and nervous about joining after suffering a loss at 9 weeks in the summer. Still got to reach that milestone but know that things can still go wrong. :cry:

I had a scan around 6 weeks and saw HB and have paid for a private scan on xmas eve - I will be 9 weeks by my dates.....need some reassurance as I am sure to have to confess to my parents over xmas (not drinking is a big giveaway :haha:).

A little about me.....oldie here...I am 42. I have a daughter who is 3 (turns 4 in March - where did that time go!!???:wacko:). We have been trying for number two for about 15 cycles - experienced 2 chemical pregnancies and one loss whish was diagnosed as a partial molar pregnancy which means I was referred to a specialist centre to be monitored after d&c and told to not ttc. Was discharged in early October and feel pregnant next cycle....due date around 28th July I guess. 

I am so nervous about a loss again....and another molar:cry: but trying to remain positive. I do feel different than last time x

Oh and one of you was talking about soy isoflavones.....soy baby here too!!!


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## Miss Bellum

One day down only one to go hurray!

Eva - there are a few good films out at the moment. We havent been for ages and then twice in one month! We saw the final Hunger Games film which is good if youve seen the first ones. 

It certainly seems like a section may be best for you. Hope you can see an OB soon. 

mitchnorm - Welcome! Not surprised you are worried after your loss. Fingers crossed this is your rainbow baby. Glad your first scan went well.


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## dimmu

Hello Everyone!
Once again apologies for not being around much recently. This week has been pretty hectic with all the Christmas stuff and I'm still working as well, today is my final day and I work from home, hence the chance to send a quick note!! :winkwink: I also have family staying over now, so evenings are pretty packed. My MS is unfortunately still as bad as ever, the relief I had was only temporary. I was really hoping it would improve by Christmas but guess that's not gonna happen. Oh well, as long as the bubs is fine.. 

Welcome along mitchnorm and congratulations!! I hope this is a sticky bean for you. My baby is a soya baby too, hopefully the SI gave us extra strong eggs! Did you do many cycles of SI before succeeding? 

Miss B, JJay, EVa, how are you all feeling now? All prepared for Christmas? 
I still have to wrap all the presents, tonight will be another busy one! I hope my nausea will be better today as I don't have to commute, it always seems to make it worse. I feel really guilty as I have been very unsociable with our guests but just have felt rotten and exhausted in the evenings so keep having to go to bed as early as 8 pm. :( 

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your families!


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## eva1978

Hello and merry Christmas everyone! It's shortly before Christmas day here in Oz :) The kids opened some pressies today and we'll do a few more (and ones from "Santa") tomorrow. Also baked cookies and we made a nice dinner just for the 4 of us. Overall today I was feeling nauseated and extremely exhausted, even after a 1 hr mid-day nap while the kids and DH were out. But feeling better now that it's evening. I ended up having a bit of gastro a couple of days ago and threw up, but that's passed now (hooray). 

Dimmu - sucks about your never-ending sickness. I hope you can enjoy a bit of yummy Christmas food! And good luck with the wrapping! Try not to feel guilty about being non-social and going to bed early etc... your body needs the rest! 

Welcome mitchnorm and I hope your scan goes great :) I'm sorry to hear about your previous losses. That's really tough, I remember reading about molar pregnancies. Fingers crossed you make it past the 9 week mark and beyond to have a healthy, sticky pregnancy! 

Thanks for the film suggestions Miss Bellum. I'm still waiting to hear from the hospital (I've contacted them about 4 times), though I suspect I won't hear anything from them for some days now.


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## JJay

Happy Christmas Eve everyone and welcome Mitch :)

I wonder if ms is peaking for us as I've been feeling sick and super exhausted the last couple of days too. I also feel like I've been unsociable and napping when I can in addition to really early nights. We are more or less ready for tomorrow so at least I can have another early night tonight! 

I had my serenity blood draw but they said the lab is behind due to all of the bank holidays so it will probably be 7th Jan when I get the results- it's like the tww again! At least I will have them back before the scan though. 

I'm supposed to be going out with a group of around 20 school mums on the 30th but have decided to cancel - I won't have my results by then so don't really want to announce and my bump is now unhideable. I look around 5 months pregnant! Think I will hibernate as much as possible until the 7th. 

Sounds like you e had a lovely Christmas Eve Eva, hope you feel ok and enjoy Christmas Day!

Mitch, it's a worrying time, fingers crossed all is ok this time. I also had a miscarriage in the summer at 11 weeks (discovered at 9.5 weeks) and it's made me very nervous this time but so far so good. 

Dimmu, sorry you're still feeling really sick. I hope the family you have staying over are helping out and letting you get lots of rest. Hopefully we only have another couple of weeks before we all get our energy back. 

Miss B, hope you're feeling ok and all ready for Christmas. 

Have a lovely day tomorrow everyone X


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## JJay

Ps just discovered this again. I read it with my last pregnancy and had totally forgotten about it...

https://alphamom.com/pregnancy-calendar-overview/


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## mitchnorm

Sorry it was a fleeting visit to your thread...I was convinced this time was different. No heartbeat on scan.....stopped growing only yesterday measuring 8 weeks 6 days. I am beyond devastated. Obviously they want to check for molar again....I lost exactly same gestation last time so very nervous.

Took soy only 2 cycles before last loss and this was first month ttc with soy. Concerned that that is the common factor

Happy healthy pregnancies all x


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## JJay

Mitch I'm so sorry that's horrible news. Sending a big hug. Be kind to yourself over the holidays X


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## dimmu

Mitch I'm so terribly sorry. :( How devastating, and just before Christmas as well. Life can be so cruel sometimes. Please look after yourself.xx


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## Miss Bellum

Mitchnorm, I'm so very sorry for your loss :hugs:


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## Miss Bellum

Hi ladies, hope you have all had a great Christmas eve, and have a lovely Christmas tomorrow. 

Dimmu - Sorry youve still had bad sickness, hope it eases enough for you to have a lovely day tomorrow. I sympathise, I am still feeling pretty ropey too.I tend to fall asleep on the sofa by 9 which means I should probably go to bed earlier. Roll on second trimester hope thats better for us. I still have a ton of presents to wrap too. 

Eva, sounds lovely so far. Fingers crossed the tests come back fine. Sorry youve been feeling rough too, hope you feel better soon 

Jjay - hope you feel better soon, Does sound like it's been a tough week for us all. Hopefully things will get better soon. Shame you have to miss the meet up but probably best if you don't want to announce things just yet. Good luck with your tests. Thanks for the link, that's a great site.


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## Mrs W 11

Hi everyone,

I'd like to tentatively join you all if that's ok? I'm 35 and a bit behind most of you.... 6+1 today with baby #2. Feeling pretty nervous as it's taken 2 years and 3 Ivfs to conceive this one and I did have a bleed I just before 5 weeks. Anyway your thread looks really chatty so I'd love to join in.

Mitch I'm so sorry to read your post above, so heartbreaking. :hugs: look after yourself lovely, I hope your rainbow follows soon xx


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## dimmu

Hello, how is everyone? Hope you've had a wonderful Christmas with your families and loved ones.

Welcome along Mrs W and hugr congratulations!!:) When is your baby due, sometime in August I assume? Have you had many symptoms yet?

I somehow managed to get through the xmas day without feeling too bad, I even did most of the cooking and stayed up until 10 pm, that's quite an achievement these days!!:) Yesterday was the payback time then, and I probably felt more nauseous than I have done since my MS began, and my stomach was really sore as well from eating too much the day before. I hope my MS would now finally be peaking at 11 weeks and start to subside soon. I'm still in bed and scared to get up in case I start feeling as bad as yesterday. At the moment it's just mild nausea. 
I have my NT scan on Thursday as well, pretty nervous and excited about that.

How are you all, how was the Christmas?


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## minties

I'm not 35 yet, but pretty close to it, and thought this would be a nice thread to read and join if that is ok? My baby is due at the end of July, which is actually the middle of winter here.


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## Miss Bellum

Hello everyone, hope you all had a lovely Christmas. We had a lovely relaxed time on the day, just went to my parents. LG really liked all her presents and keeps asking for more! Still feeling pretty nauseous here hope it clears soon. 

Welcome Mrs W 11. Not surprised you are nervous given your history. Finger crossed all goes well for you this time. 

Dimmu - Glad you had a lovely Christmas and you weren't feeling too bad on the day. I was pretty much the same, fine Christmas day but felt so rough Boxing day! I did wonder if it was due to overdoing things on the run up to Christmas, had a few late nights. Hope your MS is better soon. Not long to go till your scan, hope all goes well on Thursday. Can't wait to get a date for ours, hopefully should be soon.

Hi & welcome Minties! Mine is due at the end of July as well. Are you in Australia or New Zealand?


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## dimmu

Hello Minties, lovely to have you joining us! How has your pregnancy been so far?

Miss B glad to hear you had a nice relaxing Christmas! Although sorry to hear you also felt rough on boxing day. I definitely must have overdone it on xmas day with all the cooking and rushing around. How have you been feeling since? I felt quite ropey yesterday but managed to go out to the cinema with DH to see the star wars, our first night off this year! It was nice, and the cinema was lovely as well, they actually served you drinks and snacks to your seat before the film started. I wish I could have had a glass of red, never had one in cinema lol! 

Anyway I hope you are all doing well.


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## eva1978

Hey ladies, 

I'm so sorry to read about your loss, mitchnorm :( I hope you get the support you need over the next days and weeks especially, and that you will have your rainbow baby not too far in the future xo. Hugs. 

Welcome Miss W! When is your first scan? 

Hi minties! I'm due mid-July, which is also winter here :) (Australia). It's currently really hot some days so I've ordered a few summery maternity things that I can wear over the next couple of months, since my current maternity stuff was more for fall-ish/winter weather, and that bump is starting to protrude a bit! 

JJay (or anyone!) - are you taking pics to monitor your bump progress? :) I thought about doing that esp. since this is likely to be our last, but haven't bothered so far. Oh yes thanks for that site - I hadn't seen it! Too bad you have to wait until Jan. 7 for your results, I hope the waiting isn't too painful! 

dimmu that's great that your Christmas day went relatively well! But sorry the next day was extra rough. Sounds like a nice movie date though! Will have to go back when you can enjoy that glass of wine :) 

Miss Bellum, sorry you are also having a rough time of it. I love going to bed early these days when I can. I should get off the computer now! Hope your nausea lessens soon. 

Good luck with the scans on Thurs! Do you think you'll know any tentative results right away? I have my 12 week scan on Wed and I'm hoping the sonographer can tell me *something* at least! I guess it will take a while for the bloods which I hope to do Wed as well.


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## Miss Bellum

Hi ladies hope you are all well. I have been OK today which I hope doesnt mean a bad day tomorrow. 

Dimmu - Sounds like a lovely cinema trip! Was it a Cinema De Lux? I love going to the directors hall, feels like a really special treat. Did you enjoy the film? I always avoid wine in the cinema, too likely to sleep during the film!


Eva - I haven't been taking any photos, I'm a bit too self-conscious. But I think I will need to tell people when I go back to work next week as during the last week, I have really bumped out! I am going to need to go on a shopping spree too. Hope you scan goes well, I cant wait to have mine. We are just having a dating scan though so just hoping to be told on the day everything is OK. So nerve wracking having to wait.


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## dimmu

Good morning everyone! Hope you are all doing well. 

I had another good day yesterday, so maybe this really is a turning point. I went for a long walk and it didn't make me feel too bad, although I kept sipping water throughout. I haven't been able to do any kind of exercise for weeks, so it was nice. I used to do some jogging before I got pregnant but doubt I'll get back to that. Brisk walks will have to do in the coming months. Is any of you doing any exercising?
I also had a small cup of coffee yesterday, and I felt like having another one this morning so had some decaf coffee. I'm usually a coffee junkie but haven't touched the stuff for weeks, even went off coke. 
But of course now I'm also worrying about the symptoms going! :dohh: I did feel nauseous last night, just not as bad as the previous nights, so maybe the worst of the MS is behind me now..

Eva I've taken some photos of the bump, not over the xmas though, but I can't really see any progress yet. It's just one big bloat that gets worse in the evenings!!! It still disappears when I lie down flat on my back, so no real bump there yet. I think if my scan goes ok on Thursday I might go and get a couple of maternity dresses and maybe jeans this weekend, after all the sales are on at the moment!

Miss B it was Everyman Cinema, a small independent chain. I'm also prone to falling asleep in cinema so maybe a glass of wine wouldn't be a very good idea anyway!!!

How are you all doing, any nausea still?


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## Mrs W 11

Hi everyone, thanks for all the welcomes! 

Dimmu - you did well doing all of the cooking on Xmas day! I couldn't face it, dh cooked and cleared up so our guests must think I'm just a lazy cow!! Good luck for your scan on Thursday!! No chance of any exercise here, I can barely get out of bed!! Was the same in previous pregnancies, gentle walks are all I can manage and maybe some yoga or swimming when I get some energy back. I don't know how some ladies carry on doing hard core exercise when pregnant!! 

Hi minties! Where do you live? 

Eva - I did weekly bump shots with my dd pregnancy and it was so lovely to have at the end, I will def do it again this time.... Maybe starting in a few weeks! 

Hi miss bellum- sorry to hear you've been feeling rough too, hopefully you ladies will start feeling better very soon as you head out of first tri!! 

I'm jealous of you ladies doing maternity clothes shopping, really excited to get to that point again!! I'm 6+4 today and baby should be due 20th August. I don't know if I said in my first post that I had a bleed at 4+6 and several days of spotting afterwards so I've been really nervous but got an early scan tomorrow and praying we might see a heartbeat. I am feeling really nauseated and drained but in that annoying place where I feel grim but don't want to moan about it as I know these are good signs!!


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## JJay

Hi Everyone, hope you all had lovely Christmases :) 

Sorry I've not posted for a few days, we've been staying with family so busy days and I've been so exhausted. I've checked in and kept uptodate but not had any energy to post. I can't wait for this phase to end - I could literally sleep all day if I was able! 

Welcome and congratulations Minties and Miss W :flower: Miss W, I hope your scan goes well tomorrow, will be thinking of you. The first trimester is so stressful. Your nausea and tiredness sound like good signs and i think spotting is common. 

Dimmu, glad you are starting to feel better, you're a little bit further in than me so I'm hoping recovery is round the corner. I'm lucky I've not been sick like you but I am stupidly tired all of the time and just don't feel like doing anything. Your cinema sounds good - we are going to see Star Wars tomorrow night and have booked gallery seats at the odeon. There is a bar so DH can enjoy a few drinks and I can enjoy the unlimited snacks and quality street! I'm going to try and get an afternoon nap so I don't fall asleep!

Miss B I've not been taking bump shots this time either. I did a montage first time around but started off a lot slimmer, at the moment I think people would wonder if I'm fat or pregnant so I think I will wait a couple more weeks and then get a nice bump shot instead of a flabby looking one! When is your dating scan? 

Eva, good luck for your scan tomorrow! It's a busy week for scans on this thread with two tomorrow then Dimmu on Thursday. Mine isn't until the 14th Jan which seems a while away. I'm just focusing on my serenity test results first. I feel a little bit in limbo until I get them. I don't want to tempt fate by buying any maternity stuff or baby stuff in the sales until I know everything is ok. It's silly really as I didn't do any testing in my previous pregnancies and felt fine, and I wouldn't be again this time if these new tests didn't exist. 

Other than waiting for the tests I feel fine about the baby as I'm listening to the hb on my Doppler every couple of days. Also it seems really early but I swear I have felt a couple of little movements in the last couple of days. It feels exactly like I remember before and can't think what else it would be? I was around 16 weeks with DD and 13 weeks with DS so it does seem very early. 

Has anyone decided if you'll find out the gender? We will stay team yellow as we have done before but it's weird this time as the results will come back with the serenity test and be held on file at the clinic so I could know any time if I wanted!


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## MeganS0326

Hi ladies! Do you mind if I join you? I just got my BFP and won't be due until early September but I live in South Texas so that is still summer here. Lol. 

dimmu, I sent you a PM back in November when you first got your BFP to ask you some questions about Soya. I ended up taking it for the first time this cycle. I was convinced it didn't work because I started with a low dose and had a super late O but here I am, pregnant!!


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## JJay

Hi Megan, welcome and congratulations again! 

I got a lovely surprise this afternoon! The clinic rang to say the serenity results are back early and they are all fine. So happy! :)


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## Mrs W 11

Jjay - great news about your test results! I've not heard of serenity tests, is it a genetic test? Wow that would be early for movement but they do say it gets earlier with each baby so hopefully it was!! We didn't find out gender with our dd, but this time dh wants to find out and I'm not sure!! 

Hi Megan, welcome and congratulations!! 

Eva how was your scan? 

We had our early scan today and all was well. Over the moon, we saw a baby measuring 6+6 with a lovely heartbeat!! Still early days but feeling very happy. X


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## JJay

Thanks Mrs W really pleased to hear your scan went well :) it's so lovely to see that heartbeat! 

My DH would also like to find out now but I think I'd like to wait.


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## eva1978

Hi everyone! 

JJay that is excellent news about your results! :D How wonderful, what a great way to end 2015! Did you enjoy Star Wars? 

So many scans lately - good luck Dimmu, hope it all goes well! Sounds like (hopefully) your nausea has already reached its high point and hopefully now you start to feel better. I also went off coffee for a few weeks with this pregnancy which I never did before, even when I felt bad. This time it was just a bit different (not even worse, just different). I've started now having the odd cappuccino in the mornings when I can stomach it! 

Miss Bellum - how have you been feeling? 

My scan yesterday was great. It lasted about 15 minutes and the sonographer showed me many parts of the baby. He/she was jumping around a lot :) The NT scan part measured about 2 mm, which is good news (I guess you want < 3 mm). The full blood results I won't know until next week or so, but so far I'm feeling pretty relieved. 

Like most of you I haven't done any bump shots yet this time. I did some with my first, and only a couple with my second... Maybe I'll do a few with this one if I get organized, lol. 

With the gender - so far we're planning to stay team yellow, but that could change. With our other two I wanted to know to feel a bit more prepared about what to expect and what types of names to concentrate on. We may go old school this time though, since we really don't have a preference/wish for any particular gender. 

Mrs W that is great about your scan results!! It's so sweet to see the heartbeat! 

Congrats Megan on your bfp! :)

Exercise... I would like to do more of it but sadly I'm also feeling pretty inactive lately. Just so tired and finding the time on top of that. Though when not pregnant I try to do at least 2 days of activity a week (usually running for 30 mins). I'm also part of a zumba class but I've been a bit sporadic, though I'll try to keep going for a few more months if I can. Currently I only manage to run about twice every 3 weeks (and hardly any zumba)! I've gotten less active with every subsequent pregnancy :dohh: I started some "planking" last year so I try to keep that up a bit, but honestly I'm too lazy most of the time! Or I forget! 

I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year's Eve and start to 2016!


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## Miss Bellum

Hi everyone hope you are all well. Still feeling a bit sick here but seems to be getting better. Long day yesterday as we drove to Plymouth to see a friend of ours and the weather was awful. Great to catch up though. Finally had a scan date through and of course it was for a really inconvenient time. Its at 4:15 and its very likely they will be late so worried about being able to pick up lg from nursery. I have been able to change it now to 9:45 so thats much better

Dimmu - so glad you are feeling better, fingers crossed it stays that way.

Mrs W- It tough in the early stages when you are feeling so rough and yet feel you cant really complain about it! Hope you start feeling better soon, it will be no time at all until you are picking out maternity clothes. Great news on your scan. 

Jjay - sounds like a very busy time! I have finally had my scan date through, so have to wait until the 11th Jan . Hope you enjoyed Star Wars. I think we will definitely find out the gender, although last time we still got a surprise! The ultrascan tech thought we were having a boy but out popped a girl! Chances of it happening twice are a bit unlikely though. Fab news on the test results. We are just having a dating scan this time round, don&#8217;t want to deal with the stress of test results again. 


Hi & welcome Megan, congrats on your pregnancy. 

Eva, congrats on your scan, so pleased all was well. I had been trying to keep up with going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week but finding it hard to find time and not feeling great. I am hoping to go more often in the new year or I might swap to swimming. Last time I did a aqua yoga class and that was lovey so might start that again.


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## dimmu

Hi everyone, just a quick update from me as feeling really rotten today!
The scan went well, the baby appears healthy and active, the sonograper was struggling to get a nice photo for us as he/she kept moving so much. The NT measurement was 1.8 mm so almost the same as yours Eva.

We'll definitely find out the sex at 20 weeks, I think it will be a boy. DD and DH are rooting for another girl.

I took DD to the London zoo straight after the scan this morning and I have felt really nauseous all day. Think the MS is still there, I've just felt better because I've been able to take it easy.
Glad to hear you finally got your scan date Miss B!

Megan welcome along and huge congrats, so pleased the SI worked for you as well! I meant to send you a pm for an update but never got around to it.

Mrs W glad your scan went well too.


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## alihill1109

hi everyone! 

Thanks for letting me know about this forum, JJay :) 

I just got my first BFP yesterday. My DH and I have been trying for about 8 months now, I was on 100mg Clomid, Ubiquinol, acupuncture, and had an HSG this month too. So something (or everything?) must have worked! 

I'm 39 and this is my very first pregnancy, so I am looking forward to hearing about your experiences and advice. 

I don't know if it's coincidence but yesterday was when I really started feeling the symptoms - nausea, fatigue, headache, etc. I live on an island so I can't find those "preggie pops" anywhere. Trying ginger drops instead and eating a little more frequently. 

Anyhow, I am thrilled to be here and I wish you all the very best with your pregnancies in 2016! :happydance:


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## dimmu

Congrats alihill, I remember you from the ttc boards! How exciting, so many BFPs for us "more mature" mamas! :) 

My morning sickness didn't start properly until 6 weeks but has been there ever since. I hope it doesn't mean you are gonna have it quite bad as well if you're already getting nauseous. All worth it in the end of course, and they always say MS is a good sign, especially when you're older.:)


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## MeganS0326

Thanks, everyone for the lovely welcomes!!!

Ali, I've been nauseous since yesterday too. I'm not sure if it's just my nerves though. I'm so scared to lose this one. I've been praying all day. I can't wait until Monday to call my OB. She is awesome and I know she'll let me come in for betas if I want them.


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - Great news on the scan, always reassuring to see all is well. MS is such a pain, just when you think its gone, it comes back. 

Hi Allihill1109 congratulations on your pregnancy, sounds like you really did try everything! I'd started Clomid too, but only the 50mg. How annoying to have nausea this early. There are so many suggestions of things to try. I find it helps to drink lots and eat little and often. 

Megan - Its so tough in the beginning, will be keeping my fingers crossed all goes well for you.


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## dimmu

I definitely agree with Miss B about eating and drinking little and often. In fact when my MS was at its worst the only thing that helped was to eat frequently. It's hard at times when you really don't want to eat anything but it does make you feel better. I just ate whatever I could manage, never mind if it was that healthy or varied. Thankfully I couldn't stand the thought of anything really greasy but pretty lived on buttered toast for a while. At the moment I keep craving rice crispies or crumpets.
Had a coffee again this morning, yay! Didn't have any for about 5 weeks.

Jjay I forgot to comment on you feeling the baby already, that's amazing! I can't feel anything yet. The baby was kicking and bouncing a lot during the scan yesterday but I couldn't feel any of it. I only felt DD at 17 weeks, but hopefully I will feel this baby a bit sooner. My placenta is posterior so should be able to feel any kicks early on.

Below a photo from yesterday's scan. 
https://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u564/hmh3101/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01-01_10.40.11_zpshiq1rzcf.jpg


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## JJay

Happy New Year everyone!

Welcome Ali! I also find eating makes the nausea better. Anything carby and cheesy works for me! I've been craving pizza and cheese on toast although I must be feeling a bit better as I made chicken jalfrezi tonight and managed a whole plate of it. 

Eva, so pleased your scan went well and you got a good NT measurement :) I am struggling with exercise. I don't get much anyway with a 4 and 2 year old at home but I got DH a cross trainer for Christmas so I'm hoping to start using that a little and also swimming a couple of times a week - which feels so nice when my bump gets big and uncomfortable. 

Miss B, great news on your scan date and that they were able to give you a better time. We loved star wars - I'm definitely going to make an effort to go to the pictures more - it's more appealing than the pub now that I can't drink anyway! 

Megan, I hope you get your bets on Monday and it makes you feel better. It's so scary early on, I spent most of the first few weeks convinced I would lose this baby and am only starting to relax a little now. I think once you've had a loss it's extra worrying. 

Dimmu, your scan picture is fab! Love how clearly you can see the little nose :) I am going to guess boy for you s it looks like my DS's scan photo. 

I am going to wash all of my old maternity clothes this weekend. Even my regular leggings and pjs are getting tight now, I need some comfy clothes! 

We told DD and DS about the new baby! DS doesn't really understand but DD is very excited and keeps rubbing and hugging my tummy!


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## eva1978

Hi! Happy 2016! 

I also forgot to comment on the baby movement feeling. Like dimmu I haven't felt anything yet. I think I felt movement at 20 weeks with DS1 and 15 weeks (barely) with DS2. So exciting once you start to suspect feeling a flutter! 

Dimmu great pic! :) Ours was similar but a mirror image! I also have a posterior placenta. Great news about the NT scan! Hope you enjoyed your coffee! 

Hi ali - congrats! I see you live on the Cayman Islands - cool! :) I've never been there. Are you from there? 

Megan it's so hard at this stage isn't it, feeling like you have no control. On top of feeling nauseated. Your OB sounds great though! 

Miss Bellum that's good you have a scan date. Crazy story about the gender mix-up with your last baby! Aqua yoga or swimming sound like great ideas for exercise. I might get off my butt and go for a run today since I have a bit of time (DH and my dad around to babysit!) and the weather is nice for it. 

JJay great you enjoyed Star Wars. Hmm we might have to recruit my dad to sit one evening after we put the toddler to bed, and sneak out to a movie. I think it's been over a year since we've done that! That's so cute that DD is hugging your belly! :) 

dimmu that will be exciting in some weeks when you find out the gender! Why do you think it's a boy? :) I'm thinking I'm having a boy too just because of my track record. We told DS1 last week and he thinks it will be a girl. He would LOVE a baby sister!


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## dimmu

Good morning, how is everyone?

Jjay I will definitely need to get some maternity clothes soon. I've still not popped properly yet but my bloat is enormous by the afternoon. 
I'm still feeling nauseous in the evenings and also during the day if I have a busy day. But it hasn't been as bad as before Christmas. Still nit managing to get any exercising done.:( Remains to be seen how I feel when I go back to work on Tuesday. Also wondering whether to officially tell work next week or wait a bit more.

Eva I'm guessing a boy based on the dates mainly. We inly BD'ed once during my fertile days (lucky I know) and based on the dates given to me I must have conceived pretty much immediately and they say that boy sperm is faster. Also, DH and DD really want another girl so I thought it would only be fair if I rooted for a boy instead!:)


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## Miss Bellum

Happy New Year everyone, 

Back to work tomorrow boo :( I am going to have to tell my boss as well. I'd hoped to keep quiet until I had the scan but my bump is a bit too obvious! Can't believe how big it is already! 

Dimmu - Great scan picture, so pleased all went well I have a grape craving and think I've eaten an entire vineyard by now! I cant feel anything yet either but I didnt last time until late. 

Jjay - sounds like you have the exercise under control! I will probably start swimming once I get my NHS card. Round here once you can prove you are pregnant you get free swimming which is great. 

I do like going to the cinema the main problem is finding something worth watching. 

I think I am going to need to do a shop for some maternity clothes and get fitted for new bras as everything seems to be expanding! 

So cute about your DD! 

Eva - I cant feel any movement yet either but I couldnt last time either. 

Hope you do manage a pass to the cinema, it does make a great date night.


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## dimmu

Miss B I'm the same, back to work on Tuesday and dreading it.:( 

Think I'm gonna have to tell them as well, I could perhaps try and hide it for a couple more weeks but tired of it now and the bump isn't getting any smaller. They have also been making all these plans for this year and I have quite a few projects lined up for me throughout the year, most of which I should be managing rather than just working on. I feel like I should do the decent thing and tell them that I'm planning not to be there for some of them! 
Already wondering when to start maternity leave as well, quite excited about that!!:)


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## eva1978

Hi! So many people must be back to work today. I was also at the office today, but things are still quite slow (which is nice). 
How did work go for you dimmu and Miss B? Did you end up telling them? 

Miss B, mmm grapes. Speaking of vineyards! We went on a mini-tour yesterday of a few of them around here. I was the driver of course! The others got to enjoy several sips of wine. I'm looking forward to doing that again later this year hopefully! 

Did not manage to head to a movie. The movies that were playing and the times they were showing didn't appeal very much (wanted to see the 'Point Break' remake but showtimes didn't work). It's OK though. We're headed off for our real "Christmas holiday" (summer holiday) soon, so I'm looking forward to some time at the beach! 

The few maternity clothes I ordered online arrived today. Excited to try them on! My bump is still not too showy but I certainly feel the bloat... as do my jeans! 

I hope no one is feeling too sick this week!


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## Miss Bellum

Back at work but at least its been fairly quiet so have time to ease into it. I told my line manger and she was really excited for me. She didnt think I looked that bumpy so either I am a bit too paranoid about it or my maternity dress hides it better than my normal clothes! She told her manager as well and she was also happy for me, but keeping it from the rest until after the scan. Not long to go now. Sad to say I am still feeling sick. Hopefully it cant last much longer. 

Dimmu - Hope your first day back went ok. Did you decide to tell them? Haven't decided when to start maternity leave yet but cant wait to start thinking about it. 

Eva - Vineyard visit sounds wonderful. Hope you enjoy some time at the beach. Sounds lovely compared to the constant rain we have here. Still at least we aren't flooded so cant complain. Great that your maternity clothes arrived. I think I will need to bulk out my wardrobe a bit, but I am going to wait till after my scan (just in case!)


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## Mrs W 11

Hi ladies! Happy new year!! 

Miss B - glad it went well telling your boss. I'm the same as you I don't want to buy any maternity stuff until after the scan just in case. Last time I was pregnant I bought 2 dresses and a vest in the January sales and then had a mmc. I don't believe in jinxing anything but I felt sad packing the stuff I'd bought away. Praying I get to wear it soon though!! 

Eva - vineyard tour sounds great, same you couldn't indulge! We did some vineyard tours on honeymoon in Australia and loved it, did a lot of tasting!!! 

Dimmu how are you doing, was work ok and did you end up telling your boss too? 

I'll be hiding it from my boss for as long as possible but I only work 1 day a week so barely see her! It's really exciting hearing everyone chatting about mat clothes and mat leave though, can't wait to join in!! 

I'm just feeling so anxious, wish I could shake it. Still having on off brown spotting which isn't helping. Think we are going to book another private scan around 9-10 weeks to hopefully give some piece of mind before the 12 week one. Am 7+5 today, can't wait to get past 12 weeks so I can relax more and enjoy!!


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## feltsy22

dimmu said:


> I'm cautiously pregnant with my 2nd baby, due date will be sometime mid July so I'm just over five weeks at the moment and feeling very nervous.
> I'm 38 and I have a 5 yo DD who's very eager to have a sibling, she doesn't know I'm pregnant yet.
> 
> Would love to chat with other "more mature" mamas to be! :)

I am 39 - going on 40 in 17 days. I am probably 4-5 weeks pregnant. Will find out if this one sticks. Had M/C on 11/6/15 - followed my HCG down to 0 then BFP on 12/25/15 without having a period. Just praying and keeping positive.


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## Miss Bellum

Happy new year Mrs W - Spotting must be worrying, hopefully its nothing though. Hopefully a scan can put your mind at rest. I can't wait to get to 12 weeks either, first trimester is such a worry time. You'll be buying your maternity clothes before you know it.


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## dimmu

Hi Everyone, hope you are all doing well.

Yesterday was my first day back at work after Xmas and it could have been better. I didn't sleep very well the night before, first DH and then DD was keeping me awake, and my MS decided to make a full comeback. :( I hadn't been sick for a week but yesterday my breakfast came back up when I was walking towards the station. Thankfully I leave very early so there were no other people around, so embarrassing. I was sick again when I got to work but felt ok after, and didn't have much nausea until the evening. Think I will just have a snack at home before I leave and take my breakfast with me and have it at work from now on, at least it stops me from eating too quickly.

Miss B sorry to hear you are also still feeling sick, but glad your news was so well received by your managers! I didn't tell my work yet, I think I will tell them tomorrow. I don't really like my line manager and I'm not looking forward to telling him. He's away tomorrow so I think I'll speak to one of the girls from HR, and maybe I'll tell my LM's boss as well, he's much nicer than my LM. 
When's your scan again? 

Eva vineyard tour sounds wonderful, I've never been to one but would love to one day. So jealous you have some time at the beach to look forward to, I'd love to be somewhere warm right now! Don't think I'll get to go to the beach this year, well maybe a day trip to Southend or Brighton in May or June but that's not exactly the same! 

I think I will also go and buy some maternity clothes this week, maybe tomorrow after work if my MS isn't too bad. I need some leggings and dresses and would like a pair of jeans with a stretchy waistband, all my usual jeans are getting a bit uncomfortable, even the low waist ones! Not a good look when I have belly hanging over the jeans! :haha:

Mrs W it's so hard not to feel anxious, even without the spotting! I had a private scan at 9 weeks and I'm glad I did, it was very reassuring. I think if you see a heartbeat at 9 weeks the chances of MC are almost as low as at 12 weeks. Do you know what's causing the spotting? Maybe you could have an extra scan for free based on that? 

Welcome along Feltsy22 and congratulations, what a nice Christmas present!Is this your first pregnancy? Those first few weeks are so nerve wrecking, I couldn't stop testing and wasted a lot of money on pregnancy tests but just needed to see if the line was getting stronger. I was only able to stop that when my morning sickness started at around 6 weeks. As awful as it was it was reassuring at the same time. I hope things go smoothly for you this time, keep us posted!


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## Miss Bellum

Feltsy22 - welcome & congratulations, hope this is a sticky bean for you. 

Dimmu - What a first day back! So sorry your sickness is back. Its awkward when you get caught out in public when you are sick at least not many people around to see it. Hope the snack plan helps to prevent a similar attack in future. 

What a shame you dont get on with your lm - at least you will be getting a break from him soon!

My scans on Monday, getting closer but still seems ages away! I have my booking in appointment tomorrow so finally something semi-official.


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## JJay

Hi Everyone 

Just popping in to catch up. Our phone lines were brought down in the floods so I'm without phone and Internet at home and no mobile signal or 3/4G there either - it's like living in the dark ages! I have to drive around 10 minutes just to get a mobile signal and have popped over to my Mum and Dads this morning to try and catch up on work, Facebook and bnb! 

Sorry to hear you're still sick Dimmu :( my nausea is luckily getting better and I'm a little less tired too. My bump is growing by the day and I still haven't sorted any maternity clothes out! I'm telling people as I see them now and most friends and family know. 

Welcome and congrats Feltsy, I hope the first few weeks pass quickly for you. 

Mrs W, I agree with Dimmu it might be worth going to see your gp and see if you can get referral for another scan. 

Eva, the vineyard sounds fab. I love wine tasting and have been on vineyard tours in stellenbosh and Napa. I must be starting to feel better now as I'm missing wine. I had a tiny sip of red when I was putting some in a bolognaise sauce and it tasted amazing. 

Miss B good luck for your scan on Monday. Mine is 12.40 on Thursday - I can't wait! 

Not sure when I'll be back online again but will check in when I can. 

Have a lovely weekend everyone


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## alihill1109

Hi everyone! 
Sorry to be MIA - I've had guests in town all week, so it's been a busy time. Thank you for the warm welcomes and congrats - and congrats to all of you too! So nice to be communicating with a lot of other lovely women going through pregnancy at this time! 

Megan - I hope you are doing ok - I'm definitely nervous as well at this point. Fingers crossed for your that you if you got your betas done. 

Dimmu - what a great scan pic! Sorry to hear you've really been struggling with the MS though :( 

Eva1978 - I've always wanted to visit Australia too! One of my best friends is Australian, she lives on the Gold Coast right now. Where do you live? I am not originally from the Cayman Islands&#8230;I'm American but my DH is British and when we met he was living here so I moved (I was living in Miami at the time, which is only about an hour by flight.) It's small island but very nice and a great place to have kids. 


And thank you everyone who gave nausea management advice. I have no idea what to expect as it's my first, so it's greatly appreciated. 

I have my first scan next Wednesday, excited and anxious to see that everything is going ok. 

Have a great weekend everyone!


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## Mrs W 11

Jjay you must def be feeling better if you're missing wine, I still feel constantly hung over and the thought of wine makes me want to throw up haha. I bet once I get to your stage I'll be missing it haha. 

Miss B - hope your booking appointment went well. As you say I always enjoy that bit as it feels like something is actually happening and meet your midwife which is nice. 

Dimmu you poor thing, your first day back sounds awful. Sorry you are still being and feeling sick. Hopefully it will start to ease very soon. 

Hi ali- hope some of the nausea tips will help you. 

I took you guys advice and went and saw my GP yesterday and said about the constant brown spotting and that I needed a reassurance scan. They referred me to the epu who were amazing. Scan this morning showed blob was fine with heartbeat!! Measuring a day behind while last week it was measuring a day ahead but they were not concerned at all they said its so small that a day measurement either way is fine. So I do feel better now. They said if spotting continues I can have another scan in 2 weeks. 

And I think I might need to read back over those sickness tips as am feeling pretty grim!!!


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## MeganS0326

Hey, ali! Glad to see you back. I've been MIA for a bit too. I have time to read but no time to respond. I'm doing good. Dr. did not want me to come in for betas so I've just been testing and testing to make sure we are headed in the right direction. I'm kinda relaxing about it now. My first appointment isn't until 1/19, uggghhhh!! It feels like forever away. Glad you will get a scan next Wednesday. How far along will you be? 

dimmu - so sorry you have been feeling so sick. 

Mrs. W - so glad you were able to get a reassurance scan and all is well! I hope the spotting stops soon!

Hope everyone else is doing well!!


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## eva1978

Hi everyone,

welcome feltsy22! So sorry to hear about your recent mc. Hope the next weeks and months go along OK without too much stress (haha, right!) or sickness! I had a mmc almost half a year ago and I was really scared that the pregnancy after that one would fail too, but so far, so good! I'm 13.5 weeks now! I guess I'm officially in second Tri!? :) 

Miss B that's great your line manager was so positive! Sorry you are still feeling pretty crap though :-/ 
I'm feeling overall much better these days, the nausea comes more after I eat, and is no longer constant. Reminds me more of my first pregnancy which was a lot more pleasant than my last ones in terms of feeling ill! 

Miss W congrats on the scan!! Spotting is certainly nerve-wracking. There are so many mixed stories (good and bad) about it. Some women apparently spot their entire pregnancy and everything is fine. With this pregnancy I haven't "spotted" but did have brownish CM a few times. I never had that with my other pregnancies. Seems like everything is fine though. 

In terms of morning sickness I find that sometimes peppermint tea helps. Drinking water helped with my first pregnancy but never helped *at all* with my other ones. If you can manage to take a nap, that's often helpful :) 
Hope you feel better soon!! 

Sorry to hear about your first day at work Dimmu :( Did you manage to tell anyone from your office, and did it go OK? Fingers crossed for you, if you haven't done it yet! Did you end up getting any maternity clothes? How are you feeling today? I'm happy with most of the clothes I ordered :) Only got a few items. 

Hi JJay - how was your scan? 
Sorry to hear about the flooding. Sounds like a mess. Parts of Australia are flooded while other parts are on fire, though where I am it's business as usual... luckily. 
I've had a few sips of red here and there though I didn't try a glass at the wine tasting (Stellenbosch area is great! Reminds me of a trip I did years ago)! 
On New Year's Eve I did have a bit of champagne mixed with orange juice! Basically tasted like juice, was still nice to raise a glass for the evening! 

Hi Ali - I live farther from the coast, in Australian Capital Territory. Gold Coast seems really nice, but pretty expensive to visit (and more crowded) this time of year. So we'll be going further south to the beach. Cool to hear Cayman Islands is a good place to have kids! I would have had no idea about that. 

Megan, nice that you have an appt date, though yes it seems like the 19th is so far away! I hope the week goes by with relatively little stress for you!


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## Miss Bellum

Hi everyone hope you are all doing well. Still feeling a bit queasy hoping it wont last much longer. Only a few days till the scan now!

Jjay - Hope you are doing ok and haven't been too badly affected by the floods. Glad you are feeling less sick now. Not long to our scans now, getting very excited. 

Alihill - sounds like a very busy time. Good luck for your scan next week, hope everything is well. 

MrsW - Fab news on the scan , so reassuring! Sorry the sickness has hit hope it wont stay for long. 

Megan - Waiting for scans is so hard isn't it? 

Eva - Glad you are feeling less sick now as well. Hurray for 2nd trimester, hope things get a bit easier.


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## dimmu

Good morning everyone, how lovely to see so many updates at once, especially when everyone seems to be getting on so well with their pregnancies!

Jjay so sorry to hear that you have been affected by the floods, it looked absolutely horrendous in the news. Glad to hear you are feeling better and your nausea is subsiding. Hopefully we all have a nice and easy second trimester ahead of us!

Alihill where you live sounds amazing, although admittedly I had to look it up on google maps.. I'm so jealous, that must be an amazing place to grow your child. It's just getting colder here in London, wish I was somewhere warm like that instead!!! Good luck with your scan next week!

Mrs W so glad to hear you were able to have a scan and everything seems fine. Did they give any reason for the bleed? If it was me I'd probably go for another scan in two weeks' time anyway, just nice to get that reassurance. Although I hope the spotting will stop. 

Megan glad to hear you are feeling more relaxed. Are you getting nausea or any other symptoms yet? Think my MS started at around 6 weeks. I find the first trimester went surprisingly quickly, although it probably helped to have the Christmas break in between. Just ten days until your appointment now, I hope it will fly by!

Miss B glad you finally had your first appointment, makes it all feel more real! Good luck with the scan next week, let us know how it goes!

Eva - yay for the second trimester!! I guess I am almost there as well now! When I was pregnant with DD I had a couple of small glasses of wine during the pregnancy but this time I have really gone off wine and most other drinks! I usually love sparkling water but haven't had any for weeks, just still water. 
Are you getting any second trimester symptoms yet? I've noticed now that my nausea has subsided I am really hungry!!! Especially in the mornings, I am like a hobbit and have two breakfasts with snacks in between!:blush: I also seem to have a stuffy nose a lot, didn't even think it could be a symptom until one of my apps told me so.

I am feeling much better now, I think my MS just decided to go out with a bang! But ever since my first day back at work I've felt a lot better, the nausea is no longer constant, I only get it in the evenings a little bit or if I go a long time without eating. I'm ravenous now though, I could just keep eating all the time. And of course healthy food isn't doing much, if I have an apple it takes ten minutes for me to be hungry again! I also seem to be craving red meat which is unusual for me as I don't usually have much, I very much prefer fish or chicken. I am not anaemic or anything so not sure why this baby is after burgers!! I even went for McD the other day, just really wanted one of their burgers.:blush: DD was pleased as we hardly ever take her there otherwise. 
Is anyone else having any unusual cravings? I also keep wanting eggs so maybe it's the protein this baby wants. 

I also told work and it went ok. My LM just said he already knew anyway. So glad that's out of the way and they are very flexible with time as well, I can work from home whenever I have an antenatal appointment so that's nice, especially as the hospital is just 15 walk from home but over an hour's commute from work. 

I got the results from my NT scan and it was all good. Risk of Down's is 1:750, trisomy 18 is less than 1:50,000 and trisomy is 13 1:12,000. The risk of Down's even if low is a lot higher than last time, I think I got something like 1:6,500, wonder if my age was a big factor there.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well and I look forward to reading more updates! Have a lovely weekend!x


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - Great to hear you are feeling better. Must be a relief your lm knows and good he's being flexible. 

Fab news on your NT results.


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## Miss Bellum

Yey! Very happy today, had the scan and we have a healthy bean who is doing well :) :cloud9:

So very relieved! Bean didn't want to co-operate with the sonographer though and kept flipping around to be exactly in the wrong place. So happy to see bean flipping and the little heart beating away. Also quite relived not to have twins. 

I was so glad our appointment had been moved, by the time we were seen, they were running 45 minutes late and if we stuck to the afternoon, we would have been so late to get LG from nursery. Not to mention the discomfort of a 45 minute wait when you really need a wee!
 



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## MeganS0326

Great scan pic, Miss B! Glad all is well!!!


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## dimmu

Fab scan picture Miss B! It's so lovely to see them bouncing around, I'd love to have a scan jist for that every day!
Have you got a date for your 20 week scan yet?


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## JJay

Yay lovely scan pic Miss B and fab news that all is well. Only 2 days to go until mine - I can't wait, I want to see that bouncy baby. I am still listening in on the Doppler every couple of days and feeling the odd prod and twitch but I want to see baby bouncing around :)

Dimmu, happy to hear your great NT results - that must be a relief. Glad to hear you're feeling better too. 

Eva, congrats on 2nd trimester! I feel like I am pretty much there too and am dipping into the second tri forum more than the first now. 

Mrs W so pleased to hear you got a nice reassuring scan! 

Megan, Ali how are you both feeling now? Have you got scan dates or midwife appointments yet?

We are back online at home again which is great. It's very isolating with no phone or Internet - I didn't realise quite how much I rely on it. I am feeling better and better - I actually stayed up until 10.45 last night and also had a 0% beer with my dinner. No nausea left and don't feel too bloated and not as tired either. I'm still growing my the day and look very obviously pregnant. - not sorted out my maternity clothes yet and must get on to it before I wake up one morning and find I can't squeeze myself into anything. 

I'm super excited for the scan on Thursday, it's been a long time to wait but I guess I've not got too long until the 20 week scan now - has anyone got a date yet?


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## dimmu

JJay glad to hear thing have improved for you as well and you're back online as well!
It's so nice to feel more normal again isn't it! I still get evening nausea and occasional heaving but it's nothing compared to what it was. Has your tummy popped now? I look pregnant when standing up but my tummy still looks quite flat when I lie on my back. I really need to get some maternity clothing as well, but I just don't like the leggings or jeans that cover your whole belly and most maternity stuff I've seen are like that. Just thinking they'll be too hot by July!

I had an ob gyn appointment today because of my medical history (abdominal surgery a decade ago) and I got to see the baby again! It was only a brief glimpse but a nice surprise as I wasn't expecting them to scan me. Gonna need to do the glucose test at 28 weeks, not looking forward to that especially if they make you drink lucozade or similar, I detest the stuff! 
I have my 20 week scan scheduled for February 22, really can't wait, it feels like ages away. 

Hope you are all doing well. Good luck with your scan JJay! :)


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## eva1978

Hi! 

Miss B that's great news about your bean :) 

I don't have my 20 week scan booked yet. Once I'm back in town I'll have to try and make an appt with my doctor to discuss my blood results (taken around the time of the 12 week scan). I'm expecting he would have called me if something was shown to be high-risk, so I assume everything there looked alright. 

The hospital finally called me back and had booked me in for an appt this week, but of course I'm out of town! So not sure when I'll finally get to see a real OB! I hope next week. 

Dimmu that is wonderful your ms seems to be gone, and great news about your NT scan results! 
I craved more red meat (mmm burgers) with my first pregnancy, and more acidic stuff with my second. And sweet stuff like chocolate/cookies for all pregnancies including this one, lol. No weird cravings though but sometimes I also eat breakfast twice! Been eating a lot of toast with various things on it. Funny you mention stuffy nose. I've literally had that ever since this pregnancy started! It's crazy. Worst in the mornings... I've been assuming it's due to allergies, but I didn't have this before (and certainly not for 3 months straight) :-S ! So maybe it's actually pregnancy related?! 

JJay good luck for your upcoming scan! Do you get a reliable heartrate with your doppler? What rates are you finding? I normally can't get a good read with the doppler but I time it by ear using my phone timer, and I've been getting around 160 bpm. In the last 1-2 weeks it's gone down from low 170s. 
I can still get away with wearing my "larger fitting" jeans but some clothes I had to put away weeks ago. I've gotta bust out the full on maternity jeans soon, I think! 

How is everyone else feeling and doing? I hope not too sick!


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## Mrs W 11

Hi everyone!!

Eva - I've got the stuffy nose symptom as well! It's really annoying as I can't sleep as easily with it, mine is worse in the mornings as well. I thought it was just around 7-9 weeks though when the body produces extra mucous to develop the mucous plug. Maybe it can carry on throughout then, I was hoping it would be gone soon!! Congrats on 2nd tri!! 

Dimmu- yes I think under the bump jeans more comfy for a summer pregnancy, that's what I had last time. Isabella Oliver do nice ones and you can find some good deals on eBay x

Miss b - congrats on your scan, glad all was well and lovely pic!! 

Jjay- good luck for Thursday! Glad you're starting to feel better, I'm jealous!!! 

I'm still in the midst of constant nausea. So so happy to be pregnant but really fed up of feeling so ill and sick. With my dd I started feeling better around 11 weeks so I'm hoping 2-3 more weeks until it eases. So excited for second tri, to grow a bump and get the mat clothes out!! Fingers crossed x


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## MeganS0326

JJay - Yay internet!!! So crazy how dependent we are on technology these days. Glad you are starting to get that second tri relief from symptoms. Hope your scan on Thursday is great. 

dimmu- great news about the quick scan today and getting to see bubs! I hate, hate, hate the glucose test. I failed my one hour one with DS and had to do the three hour one. It was terrible!!! Your 20 weeks scan will be here before you know it.

eva1978 - Sorry about the appointment mix up, hopefully they can get you in sometime next week!

AFM, still waiting for my first appointment. It will be on 1/19. One more week to go!! I can't wait! I'm curious what is going to happen. This is not at all how things worked when I was pregnant with DS. I'm pretty sure I will get a scan at this first appointment so that I can get an accurate due date. I have super long crazy cycles so going by LMP is not going to be correct. I'm also curious if she is going to send me to the high risk Dr. straight away. With DS I had to go to the high risk Dr at about 25 weeks because of my high blood pressure which I'm sure I still have. I loved the high risk appointments though because I got a scan each time!


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## dimmu

Eva I'm sure they would have called by now if there was any reason for concern. I hope you get your appointment sorted soon. My stuffy nose is also worse in the mornings, as soon as I wake up I have to find a tissue! I thought it was allergies/weather turning colder but perhaps it is in fact a pregnancy symptom. Never thought of that until my app suggested it! 

Mrs W I so know how you are feeling, my nausea was constant for something like 6 weeks and I was so miserable. The good thing is it is probably likely to dissipate in a few weeks if that happened with your previous pregnancy. Mine is only just gone away now within the last week, although I still get occasional nausea. Have you had any more bleeding since your scan?
I went and ordered a few maternity clothes online! :) I got a couple of dresses, a top, leggings and jeans. Managed to find some below bump stuff online, thanks for the suggestions Mrs W! 

Megan that's great if you get to have a scan so early on, I understand it's a common practice in the US whereas here in the UK you have to usually wait until 12 weeks unless you go private. Really not looking forward to the glucose test. :( I am not classified high risk in spite of my medical history, but I guess they want to be sure, hence the glucose test. Guess the good thing is I get to see the consultant again after the test, hopefully he'll do another extra scan then! 

I've been feeling very well the last few days now, not much nausea at all. I'm still tired in the evenings and keep waking up for the toilet at night, and also very hungry, but it's all good. I noticed my linea nigra has made a slight appearance already, I can't remember getting it so early on with DD. It's still very faint but guess it will get stronger with time. Gonna have to remember to use strong sun block as soon as it starts getting sunnier, I got some pigment changes on my face last time so guess that is likely to happen again if the linea nigra is there already as well.


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## alihill1109

Hi beautiful mamas! 

Sounds like so many of you are getting over you MS - that must be a nice relief! 

Megan - Wishing you the very best on your dr visit next week, I hope your blood pressure issues are not there this time (but simultaneously wish you still have scans at every appt!) 

Dimmu - My husband is a Brit (from the Plymouth area) so we actually do get to visit your part of the world a fair amount. We'll be there in March for a wedding! Cayman is a long way, and there are a lot of British expats here who don't seem to want to return due to the weather, my DH included (although I love to visit and wouldn't mind living there) I'm so glad for you that you NT results were so good, what a relief that must be. 

MrsW - sorry to hear about the constant nausea, I can relate. Fx for you that it eases up a bit soon.

Eva1978 - ah you mentioned red wine from Stellenbosch and I got very nostalgic (and thirsty) as we had our honeymoon in South Africa. Sounds like you had a memorable trip there as well :) 

MissBellum - Scan looks amazing! Hooray for your healthy bean! Hope you are feeling better too :) 

JJay - good luck with your scan tomorrow! 

Afm - we had our first scan and Dr appt this morning, only one little bean in there but the heartbeat is strong and it looks very healthy! Measuring in a little over 6 weeks, so due Sept 5th. Boobs are up a full cup size too, didn't expect that to happen so fast. :wacko:Other than that, just very tired and not getting much sleep as our English bulldog snores louder than a hibernating bear. He doesn't sleep in our room but I swear I can hear it even when he's downstairs now. (Supersonic hearing, a side effect of pregnancy? Hmm.) I need to invest in some good earplugs stat. Nausea is present but manageable so far.


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## MeganS0326

dimmi - so glad you are feeling better! I never got a linea nigra with DS so not sure when that is supposed to make an appearance, but lotion-ing up sounds like a good plan!

ali - so glad you had a great scan today! One healthy bean is fantastic! Thanks for the good wishes for my BP. I hope it stays close to normal for at least the first half of the pregnancy like it did last time. I don't look forward to paying a specialist co-pay for each visit but the frequent scans are a plus. I love, love, love english bulldogs!!! Our dog was supposed to be an english bulldog, but about 4 or 5 days after he was born you could tell that his mama had done some sneaky business and he was in fact no where near an english bulldog. He was too cute to turn down so we took him anyways and he was free so we save quite a bit of cash. :haha:

AFM - having a light symptom day today and it has me paranoid. Praying the 19th gets here soon and all is well!


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## Miss Bellum

Hi ladies hope you are having a good week. 

Dimmu - no date yet, probably wont come through until the end of January. My tummy has definitely popped! There seems to be so little choice about maternity clothes in the stores here and I prefer to try things on first. Looks like it will be online for me. How fab to get an unexpected glimpse of bubba and congrats on getting a date for your 20 week scan. Good to hear the sickness is finally easing. 

Jjay - Not long till your scan! Good luck for tomorrow. It is great to see lo moving around, so reassuring. Hurray for being back on line. So pleased you are feeling better. 

Eva - great news on your doppler. I think stuffy nose is a pregnancy symptom. Hope it doesnt last until
the end for you. 

MrsW - Constant sickness does get very tiresome, hope yours starts to ease soon. 

Megan - Its amazing how quickly things seem to change in antenatal care. Good luck for your first appointment, not long to go. 

Alihill - Plymouth's not far from me either! About 2 hours in the car. Can't say I'd blame anyone for not wanting to live hear, the weather's not great! Apart from the weather I do love living in the West Country, its a pretty fab place to live. 

Its amazing how fast boobs can grow! I've gone up a cup size and hoping I dont have to go up again too soon. 

Great news on your scan


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## JJay

Hi Everyone,

Scan was fine, baby was very bouncy! It was really quick and I just got a very brief look at baby at the end of the scan but everything looked fine which is the main thing. I guess as we didn't want the NT there was not a lot to measure. They have changed my due date to 16th July and 20 week scan is 29th February, which actually doesn't seem that far away - can't believe I will be half way by then, crazy! I have shared the news on Facebook now so everyone knows which is a nice feeling :) 

Miss B, I'm glad someone else has popped too! I look huge :) my bras are also getting tight so I think I'll have to have a trip to the shops soon. 

Megan, good luck for the 19th - not long to go now. 

Ali congrats on your scan - lovely to see a little bean with a heart beat :) very reassuring 

Dimmu, I have the stuffy nose thing too! I had it with both previous pregnancies but not this early. It's very annoying when I'm trying to get to sleep at night. 

Mrs W hope you feel better soon. I'm really appreciation feeling semi normal again - a bit like I've come out of a fog. First tri was so exhausting. 

Eva, my Doppler seems pretty good - I usually hear the heartbeat before it registers a rate but after a couple of secs it then usually counts 155-165 bpm. This has come down from the 170s a couple of weeks ago. The old wives tale says over 150 means a girl but I don't think there is any truth to that. No gender clues at our scan either :)
 



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## JJay

Scary face shot! :)
 



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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - congrats on the scan! Always nice to see the bean jumping around. I am surprised you didnt get much of chance to see lo. I didnt have the NT tests either but they still gave us a good look at the bean. They measured the NT which was fine. We are just not having any of the other tests done. 

Great pictures. We have no clue about the gender yet either.


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## JJay

Thanks Miss B, I was surprised how little I got to see too! My DH watched the whole thing so I've been getting him to describe what baby was doing. It was a young doctor being trained who did the scan along with a trainee sonographer and experienced sonographer so I think maybe they were concentrating on angle of the wand etc. They poked baby quite hard a few times to get to move which I didn't really like much! I don't think they would have shown me at all as they were checking my ovaries and wrapping things up and I asked if I could get to see the baby. Still it's only 6 weeks until I get to see again!

Dimmu I forgot to say thumbs up to the extra scan, that was lucky! I had the glucose test at 34 weeks with DS and didn't find it that bad. In fact the worst bit was having to skip breakfast. The sweet drink isn't all that nice but it didn't make me gag and I had been dreading it! I'm expecting that I will have to have it again this time as I seem to grow large bumps and babies and have ended up with extra scans etc as well due to estimated size.


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## dimmu

Jjay lovely scan photos!! Glad to hear the baby was very active, just a shame you didn't get to see that much! I hope the next six weeks will go quickly for you! Can't believe we are already 1/3 there! I have my 20 week scan on Feb 23rd so just a few days ahread of you, can't wait!
Pleased to hear that the glucose test wasn't too bad for you. I think not eating anything will be the real challenge for me as well, I keep waking up every night feeling hungry and have to have a pot of yoghurt before I can fall asleep again and I get nauseous if I don't eat as soon as I get up. Do you think you'll need to do the glucose test this time as well?

Ali it's rather cold here right now so I'm very jealous of you! March is often a nice month here, I love the British spring with all the blossoms. My husband has family links to the Caribbean so we have visited a couple of times to let everyone meet DD and I just love it there, the weather, the rainforests, beaches.. I could easily live there but husband finds it too hot!

Megan not long now until your appointment! Hope your symptoms have returned and good luck!

Miss B I had to get some new bras at 5 weeks or so, my boobs just got so sore that I couldn't wear underwired bras anymore. Mine have gone up a cup size but aren't as sore now. It's really hard to find maternity clothes, or any that don't look frumpy anyway! There are lots online but I find it hard to order stuff online as I tend to be different size in different stores. I ordered some online anyway, they should be here next week! I really need some now, can't wear any of my jeans anymore so living in leggings. 

I think I can feel the baby now! So amazing, pretty certain that the little flutters and popping are the baby. I didn't feel DD until 17 weeks but it could be that I just didn't know what to look for. Now it's easier to tell having experienced it before but it could definitely still easily go unnoticed.


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - It is hard trying to find decent maternity clothes in stores or on line. I ordered about 6 different dresses and didnt really like any of them when they arrived. Hope you have better luck. I havent felt any other flutters for a while, hope I feel some more soon, its when it starts to feel real.


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## eva1978

Hi ladies! 

JJay great scan pics :) That's good you asked to see the baby... seems like you're right, they may have been too busy training and totally forgot that errr... perhaps you want to see the baby, too!! 

dimmu that's so great you're feeling much better! The glucose test I agree isn't fun at all... I had it with both my boys (no indicated risk, they just wanted to do the test anyway) and those were long mornings, lol. I never had the linea negra, though with DS2 I did get skin pigment changes on my face, which never went away! :-S this is despite wearing sunscreen pretty much daily. 
That's awesome you can feel the baby! Do you feel the movement when you are just sitting/standing around? I'm pretty sure I felt him/her a few days ago when I was using the doppler. Quite sure there were some kickbacks! I used the doppler again last night and didn't feel the movement, maybe he/she was sleepy :) Hope your ordered clothes fit! 

Miss Bellum sorry about your experience with ordered clothes, that sucks. I ordered 1 pair of "nice" pants, 1 skirt, 1 tank and 1 long-sleeved nursing top, all in the same size. Turns out the long-sleeved shirt is a bit big but it'll work anyway. The skirt and tank are perfect, and pants are pretty good. It's such a pain to have to send things back. I'm pretty sure I can wear the tank and skirt even when not pregnant, which is nice! 

My boobs have finally grown a bit but definitely not a cup size. I can still wear my old bras. 

Megan good luck on your appointment! Your dog sounds adorable :) I'd love to have a dog (always had 1-2 growing up) but right now it would be a bad idea. Maybe one day when we finally settle on a place to live! 

MrsW I hope you feel better sooner than later :( Nothing much to do but keep swimming. I'm finally starting to crave coffee again in the mornings, where as the thought of it a few weeks ago used to disgust me! Are you also throwing up a lot in addition to feeling bad? I've never had it so bad like dimmu... just constant feeling like crap, and lots of gagging (esp. when brushing teeth). 

Congrats on your scan Ali! Hope you can find some earplugs :) Did you go to many places in South Africa for your honeymoon? Sounds lovely!


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## dimmu

It's so frustrating to try and find nice maternity clothes. I went around a whole huge shopping centre the other day and came out with just one half decent dress. Everywhere else they didn't have anything nice if they stocked any at all. I hope I have more luck with my online orders than you did Miss B, glad it worked out for you Eva!

I was also left with some permanent pigment changes on my face from my last pregnancy. It's not too noticeable but gets darker when I tan so now I always use face cream with SPF. 

The baby movements are still very sporadic, I'm most likely to feel something when I sit still after eating but it's not every time. I read that at this point the baby is the size of a large lemon whereas the uterus is the size of a small melon, so plenty of room for the baby and guess that's why you only feel the movements occasionally.

Eva glad to hear you are back on coffee as well! I didn't have any for about six weeks, but loving it again. Only having max two large cups a day and sticking to decaf and low-caffeine stuff but could have more if I allowed myself. Yesterday I made some salmon lasagne for tea and there was a bottle of white in the fridge left behind by our xmas guests, and for the first time since my BFP I actually felt like a glass. Oh well, the wine ended up in the kitchen cupboard to wait for the summer.


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## eva1978

dimmu that's too bad about the clothes. Really hope the online stuff works out! 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the permanent pigment changes, but oh well, things could be worse! I've bumped up my spf face cream from 15 to 50! 

Pretty exciting to feel the movement! :) That's wonderful. I don't think I'm there yet. I'm sure I've felt it a couple of times when it was a bit strong but I'm not sure that I'm feeling it on a daily basis. Now that I'm back at work at my desk maybe I'll notice things more. There may be something going on that feels like flutters, but it's so faint I can't tell if it's real or just my imagination! 

I finally have a "real" doctor's appointment this week! I'll be 15w1d. Not sure what to expect, whether they'll do a scan or what. They just asked me to bring hard copies of my previous scan (12w) results. 

Enjoy the coffee! I usually have a cap or a mocha in the mornings, and sometimes a tea in the afternoon. Definitely also looking forward to a decent glass of wine in about half a year's time! We have so many bottles stacked up from the wine tour we did a couple of weeks ago. DH is pretty good about not drinking as much when I'm pregnant, but I'm still skeptical we'll have many of those bottles left by the time the baby arrives! 

Best of luck for your appt today Megan!


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## JJay

Hi Everyone,


So exciting feeling movements! I'm not feeling anything very regularly yet but most days I get periods of wiggles which are getting stronger and more noticeable all of the time. I love it! Can&#8217;t wait to see movement on the outside too &#8211; I&#8217;ve had this last couple of times at 18/19 weeks so not long. The sonographer mentioned that my placenta looks posterior this time whereas before it was anterior both times so I&#8217;ll be interested to see if that makes any difference.
 

Have you had your appointment yet Eva? I have a consultant appointment on the 28th as I am high risk due to two previous sections. I guess they will discuss my birth options and persuade me towards another section. I am 95% this is the way I&#8217;ll go.
 

Dimmu, I&#8217;m not sure about the glucose test. I&#8217;ve not been booked for it so I guess it will depend on my fundal measurement again. Last time it started off on track but at 30 weeks, I measured 40cm so was sent for a scan and baby estimated to be 10-11lb so they sent me for the glucose test to make sure I didn&#8217;t have GD. If I grow another big one I guess they will probably test me.
 

Glad to hear you&#8217;re enjoying coffees &#8211; I don&#8217;t like it so just sticking to decaf tea as I can&#8217;t notice any difference. It&#8217;s wine I&#8217;m missing L - I love wine and usually have a glass or two with dinner most evenings and more on the weekend. With DD I hardly touched it, I think as it was my first pregnancy I was super cautious but with DS my midwife was quite relaxed about it and said if you enjoy it just stick to the recommended max of 1-2 units, once or twice a week. I didn&#8217;t drink anything in first trimester but after that I enjoyed a small glass of wine every Saturday and I really enjoyed it and looked forward to it. I just figured I would do the same this time but my new midwife has said strictly no alcohol for 9 months as even one glass can affect the baby. There are also posters all over the hospital saying 0-4-9 no alcohol, no risk. July seems a long time away!
 

Other than that I have no news, it&#8217;s lovely being out of the stressful and feeling rotten first trimester but I feel this trimester is going to be a bit uneventful in comparison. I&#8217;m still squishing into regular leggings and clothes &#8211; I really must sort out my maternity stuff. Let me know if you manage to find any good stuff anywhere Miss B. I had a quick look in Jojo Maman Babe sale but everything was a bit frumpy. I did buy a gorgeous neutral Babygro with baby elephants on it though!
 

Megan how did your appointment go?


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## Miss Bellum

Hi ladies hope every is doing well. I have received my NHS maternity card so officially pregnant! Looking forward to enjoying some free swimming now. I also got my 20 week scan date for the 25th Feb. 

Eva - Great that your online shopping worked out so well. I had to buy some new bras as went up a cup size. I think last time I ended up having to buy two new sets of bras + nursing bras so I hope I dont grow as much this time. I've only felt a few flutters so far. Good luck with your appointment, hope it goes well. 

Dimmu - I still dont really feel many movements yet either. Glad to hear you are enjoying the coffee again. I havent been able to face any alcohol for the past few weeks and would still rather have soft drinks. But I found since having my lg I turned into a real light weight and sometimes got headaches whilst having 1 glass. I do miss being able to relax with a nice chilled glass on occasion. 

Jjay - How exciting to feel so much movement. The recommendations here have just changed to no alcohol during pregnancy but I think just a small glass every now and then would be fine. 

ASOS do have some nice maternity clothes and are pretty reasonably priced, its just the things I like dont seem to suit me. Hope you have better luck.


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## dimmu

Hi Everyone, hope you are all feeling well.

I still haven't had much luck with the maternity clothes. My online order came and I ended up returning half of the stuff, including the jeans and leggings. :growlmad: Kept a couple of dresses though so hopefully the weather will get warmer soon so that I can start wearing them with tights. Really struggling with jeans, you only seem to get skinny jeans everywhere which I'm usually fine with, but I know I will put on weight on my thighs in the coming months so would prefer something else, ideally straight cut. Just don't want to look like I have chicken drumsticks for legs!! And under the bump is a must, don't want to wear over the bump stuff mid-summer. Think I will try a different online retailer today. 

In terms of movement every day seems different now. On Monday the bubs must have had a party as he/she was popping like crazy, I even felt this weird turning sensation which I never had with DD, literally as if you stomach turned around on one side. Since then it's been much quieter with just a little pop or flutter here and there. 

I'm also someone who enjoys their wine. I only ever have one max two glasses in one go, usually with food. Just can't handle more than that. I often opened a bottle on Friday night and as DH doesn't drink wine it would last me 3-4 days. Since being pregnant haven't fancied it all, just went off all drink with my MS except still water and orange. Last Saturday was the first time i though a glass would be nice but didn't have any real urge. So I doubt I'll be drinking at all this pregnancy, although I think a small glass here and there would be fine. I have a bottle of prosecco in the kitchen cupboard, I think I will pop that in the fridge when I go in labour! :) But July does indeed seem a long time away... 

I haven't received my maternity card yet, no one has even mentioned it. I have a midwife appointment on Monday so will have to remember to ask. 

Good luck with your appointment Eva, let us know how it goes!


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## MeganS0326

Hi ladies! Thank you all for your thoughts yesterday! My appointment was good. Dr put me at 6+2 yesterday so my official due date is September 11th. The US machine she used was a dinosaur so she didn't get a heartbeat but she saw the yolk sac and said everything measures on time. I was worried that she didn't get a heartbeat but she assured me that it is hit or miss whether you get the heartbeat between six and seven weeks. That coupled with the ancient US machine has me a bit relieved. 

Sorry to all dealing with the maternity clothes struggle. I still have all my stuff from DS so I should only need to add a few pieces since this time is more of a summer pregnancy. 

Eva, good luck at your appointment!!
 



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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - Sorry your maternity clothes were no good. I'm sure there seems to be less around this time, there was loads on offer with my first. I think the maternity card comes through automatically once your midwife has registered you - did she say anything about it at your appointment? 

Megan - Great news on your scan, lovely picture.


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## eva1978

Hi all! 

Nice scan pic Megan! :) congrats! 

I ended up having my first midwife appt today! I don't see an OB until Feb. 25 - same day as your next appt, right Miss B? :) I'm in the same boat and not feeling many movements, just a handful so far! 
The appointment today went pretty well. She took a bunch of info about my history and also used the doppler to find the heartbeat. She also managed to track down my blood results for the chromosomal abnormalities tests, and all looked good there! She was very friendly and I'm going to try and make my next appointment with her again. 

I have to do my glucose test around early April, I guess they just make you do it here no matter what. Takes 2.5 hrs apparently... :wacko:

JJay, that's interesting that you're considered high risk from the two previous sections. I guess I'll know more about that when I see an OB Feb. 25, but the midwife seemed to think it's reasonable to assume I might be able to try for a VBAC. In a way I'm keen to try that but I'm also pretty nervous about something going wrong. I also dread going 2 weeks overdue, which is I think what they typically "allow" before doing something about it. 

Dimmu sorry about your maternity clothes :-/ I found some of the Noppies jeans to be flattering, even though "skinny jeans" (I used to dread wearing them but now I like them)! The ones I have have the thin/cotton part that goes over the bump but the 'jeans' part is under the belly. I had to try them on though to make sure I got the right fit. Not sure if you have Noppies in the UK though? When I was in Europe I also ordered some semi-formal dresses and a few other items (like leggings) from ASOS, most of the stuff fit. Maybe I've just gotten lucky so far! 

I'm also a BIG fan of wine :) DH and I most evenings would split a bottle with dinner :winkwink: He's cutting back a bit though, which is nice! I also agree that 1-2 drinks of wine per week, eaten with a meal, esp after 1st tri, should be fine. Doctors feel obligated to tell pregnant women to abstain from "everything", to make their lives easier (and less likely for people to sue them if they act irresponsibly), and since there are no conclusive studies on how much alcohol is actually "safe" (usually moderate drinking, whatever that means, is considered find in many countries). I still don't feel comfy having a full glass but I've had a 1/3 or half-glass a few times. 

Speaking of abstaining from things, is anyone trying to avoid deli meats and fresh/mouldy cheeses? I usually try to do that (unless they're heated to high temps), but sometimes I forget :dohh: !


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## dimmu

Lovely scan picture Megan!:)

It is such a struggle to find decent maternity stuff! I hope the summer/spring stuff will come to stores soon, hopefully they'll be less dowdy. I managed to get some jeans today - yay! They are skinny but not too bad, still a bit big around the waist but I'm sure that'll change..:)

Eva sorry to hear you have to have the glucose test too! Mine will be in April as well, think on the 11th.

I've tried staying away from deli meats but have had a couple of ham sandwiches when my cravings got the better of me. I haven't had any mouldy cheese but saying that I have some camembert in the oven, really fancied some tonight! I've been having soft eggs this pregnancy which is something I avoided last time, but the guidelines have changed since. I'd love some sushi/sashimi but been avoiding it until now just in case.


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## Miss Bellum

Bought myself a Manduca today! First major purchase for this baby (although I might see if I can get LG to go for a back carry in it). I've had my eye on it for a while and thought I might try to get a second hand one but Amazon are selling them for 64, bargain!

Eva- Glad your appointment went so well your midwife sounds lovely. Yep, we both have our next appointment on the 25th Feb - does yours include a scan too? I agree its much easier for drs to tell pregnant ladies to avoid everything but I dont think a little bit of wine does any harm, especially in the later stages. 

I'm not trying to avoid any foods really. Luckily for me, I dont really like most of the things they recommend avoiding so not missing anything. Although at one of my appointments, I was told its fine to eat things like brie so long its made with pasturised milk. 

Dimmu - At least you have a pair of jeans that fit. I think I will see if I can hold out till summer now as well.


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## dimmu

Miss B how exciting about the Manduca!:) I loved mine and will use it with this baby as well. Mine is an older model, think the new ones are even better! They retain their value quite well too in case you want to sell it one day, especially if you keep the original packaging. It may take a little while to get used to it but don't get disheartened by that, it's great once you get the hang of it. There are lots of good videos on youtube on how to put it on in different ways, much easier to follow than the package instructions. Should be fairly easy to try the back carry with your LG, she can probably hold on to you herself until you get it fastened. Good luck, let me know how you get on!


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## JJay

Exciting making purchases for the baby Miss B :) I've got a connecta sling which I used a little bit with DS, I will hopefully use it more this time around. I've been starting to think about what to buy and what to spruce up - I fancied a new pushchair but think I will compromise with a new carroycot to fit my current travel system and then give it a good clean and get new wheels. 

I have finally had a good wardrobe sort out, I actually had more old maternity stuff than I remembered. Lots and lots of leggings, tights, dresses and big (non maternity) tops. I've done it just in time as my bump has really popped in the last couple of days and I can't fit any regular clothes now. I look around 7-8 months pregnant and am already getting 'when are you due' comments from strangers. This happened last two times as well. It does make me feel a little embarrassed to be so big so soon but nothing I can do about it so may as well embrace the bumper bump! I'll aim to take a pic this weekend and post when I'm not wearing slobbing around the house clothes. I've put on 5lb so far which doesn't seem too bad - although I started out too heavy. 

I didn't realise we could eat runny eggs now! Great news. I haven't really noticed not being able to eat certain foods this time around. First pregnancy it seemed very restrictive but that was when we had a life and used to eat out 3-4 times a week. Now we mainly stay in so it doesn't seem difficult. I didn't realise deli meats were a problem so have eaten them as normal. I've also had baked Camembert a few times. Yum. (Although it would go so well with wine!!). I was told sushi is fine as long as it has been been frozen first - which supermarket sushi will have been. You just need to check in a restaurant. I've had steak a couple of times and had to cook it through but otherwise just eaten as normal. 

Great news on your scan Megan - it's good to know everything is where it should be and measuring on track. Will you get another soon to see heartbeat?

Congrats on a good appointment Eva, it's great you're being supported for VBAC. I was supported by consultant and midwife for a VBAC last time but I think they will push me to have another section this time. I'm ok with it as its what I expected and will know for sure after my consultant appointment next Thursday. There is small part of me that would like to try natural but I am nervous about it going wrong again. Can I ask what happened at your previous births? 

Has anyone had braxton hicks yet? I started to get them today and it seems really early but after googling it seems it's very common and nothing to worry about.


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - Thanks for the tips! At least I will have plenty of time to practice and if all else fails, there is a fab sling library by me. I'm sure it will take a bit of getting used to but I've used similar types so hoping should pick it up pretty quickly. I just love the idea of a carrier that lasts from birth to toddler, especially one where you can cross the straps. So much more comfy to wear that way

Jjay - I do like the connectas, so pretty! Great news on your maternity finds saves you having to struggle to find new things. No BH here yet


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## dimmu

You should be fine Miss B! I lent my manduca to a couple of people and they hated it, found it too fiddly or something and went with baby bjorns instead. Such a shame, baby bjorn might be easier to use but manduca is just so much better for both you and the baby. I never had any back pain with it.

Jjay I think the guidelines changed with regards to runny eggs quite recently, like late 2014, so the NHS websites etc haven't been updated yet but you can find newspaper articles about it online. Only eggs with the lion stamp are ok as the hens have been vaccinated. So I'm not ordering runny eggs when eating out but quite happily having them at home. I really wanted to order sashimi last night but our local Japanese wasn't 100% if their fish had been frozen, it more than like has been but didn't want to take the risk. :(

No braxton hicks for me yet, I think they started much later than this with DD.


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## JJay

15 weeks mahoosive bumpety bump! Excuse all of the bags of stuff from my wardrobe clear out in the background!
 



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## JJay

Ps Dimmu you have put Japanese food in my head and I am craving it now - we have decided to go out for a tepenyaki lunch!


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## Miss Bellum

Nice bump pic Jjay hope you enjoyed your lunch.


Dimmu - Manduca arrived today - I like the look of it so far! I do see how people would prefer the Babybjon, it is so easy to put on. But it takes so little time to get used to some of the other carriers I do think its shame people give up so quickly I did start with a bb but found as soon as lg got bigger it was too uncomfortable to use. After getting used to other carriers, I don&#8217;t think I'd ever go back to a bb.


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## MeganS0326

JJay you are so beautiful in that pic!!

AFM - I'm worrying about the Zika virus! We are headed on a vacation to Cabo at the end of February. Mexico is on the travel advisory from the CDC. I'd hate to have to cancel our trip. I'm going to be on the cusp of second tri then so I'm hoping I'll be in the clear. Going to talk it over with the OB at my next appointment. FX I can still go!!!


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## dimmu

Lovely picture Jjay, you look pretty! I'll have to see if I feel brave enough to post one tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed your meal, my Japanese yesterday wasn't great as couldn't have my beloved sashimi.:(

Miss B that was quick! Let me know how you get on with your manduca or if you need any tips. It definitely takes some determination but hopefully you'll be fine with it. I used it with DD until she was two or so but could have used it even longer.

Megan I've seen the news about the zika virus, looks scary. Definitely worth discussing it with your OB and if you decide to go get some really strong DEET-based repellent, they probably sell stronger stuff in Mexico, and make sure your accommodation has air con. I always freak out about stuff like this, was reading about it today and started getting worried as they said the US states most likely to be affected would be southern Texas and Florida. I'm going to FL for work in a couple of weeks. Now common sense tells me it's not gonna start spreading in FL within the next two weeks, and I'm already past first trimester, yet I'm still worrying. Silly I know.


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## JJay

Thanks for the lovely comments everyone, it's really nice to hear as I feel like a whale at the moment. My lunch was really nice thanks, I love tepenyaki and it's great to take the children as it's entertaining. DH tucked into sashimi but I gave it a miss too. 

I've just read about the Zika virus - it sounds really scary. I guess it's worth seeing what happens in the next couple of weeks and what advice midwife/ob have. Ali are you affected at all in Grand Cayman? 

Great to get to go to Florida with work Dimmu, what job do you do?


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## eva1978

Hi Ladies, just checking in as I have to run, so I'll respond more (and answer your question, JJay) later on. 

JJay that is such a great picture! :) Your bump is awesome! 

A friend just told me about the Zika virus advisory, she sent me this link: 
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/01/zika-virus-outbreak-prompts-cdc-to-expand-travel-advisory/
Good luck Megan with your travel plans! Seems a bit scary but I suppose there are things you can do to protect yourself. DH and I went to Indonesia some years ago (sans kids) and wore mosquito repellent constantly, also tried to sleep under nets. Seemed to do the trick. 

I had to look up what a Manduca is! :) looks great! I have an Ergo carrier. I opted for the Ergo over the Bjorn since I heard some reviewers say the Bjorn can hurt baby boys' testicles (I've never tried one though so this isn't from my personal experience). I also have a sling type thing which I'll probably try to learn how to use again!


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## dimmu

JJay I work for a consultancy company. Going to Florida for a conference. It's just for a couple of days but hating it.:( I think 10 years ago or before DD I would have loved travelling for work, but now I just feel guilty leaving her behind, especially as she always asks if she could come with me. Fortunately I don't have to travel that much, just a few times a year but still. DH also struggles when I'm away, he finds it all a bit overwhelming. Think I will have to look into getting a new job after the baby, I don't think DH could cope with two kids on his own even if it's just for a few days at a time. 

What does everyone else do for a living?

Bjorns aren't great for the babies, I think their hips are in a wrong positions or something. Babies should be sitting in their sling, not dangling from their crotch. Ergos and Manducas are very similar, and the position is good for the baby.


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## JJay

I used to be a buyer which involved a lot of travel and I really enjoyed it. I now run a very small wholesale business selling some jewellery and foldable shopping and travel bags. It works well as I can be flexible around the kids. DH works away a lot - he travels every week for at least 3 days but often longer. He has just flown to China today. Because of his hectic schedule I'm used to looking after DD and DS on my own so I find any travel for work a luxury and really enjoy the time away from baby monitors - it's so lovely to wake up in the morning and only have myself to get ready! I hardly travel now, just in the uk for meetings and exhibitions occasionally and I usually do a one week trip to Hong Kong and China in either April or October. I'm thinking I will give it a miss this year as the shows I go to are on end of April so I'll be around 28 weeks. I know I could probably get a doctors letter but there is still a higher risk of dvt and I'll be feeling very big and uncomfortable by then. The October show will be too soon after the birth and I'll still be breastfeeding so looks like April 2017 will be the next time I go away - I think I will be looking forward to it by then with 3 at home! I was also thinking of booking a girls weekend away for my 40th in October but that is out of the window now too! I will have to do it for my 41st instead. 

How is everyone feeling? I swear my bump is getting bigger by the day! Anyone else going to share a pic?? I've also felt quite a bit of movement today :)


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## eva1978

Mmm oven-baked brie! I don't worry about eating those types of cheese or blue cheese either if it's cooked. Sometimes we put blue cheese on home-made pizza. 

I've been less picky with my eggs this pregnancy as well. Normally I'll have them soft but not overly runny. I'm not *too* worried since the eggs we eat usually come from our backyard hens. They've been vaccinated and we do the de-worming fluid and to date they seem to be quite healthy girls. 

No BH for me yet either. Just feeling the odd round ligament pain. Today I haven't noticed any movement - going to do the doppler in a bit just to check things out, though I normally haven't been feeling much movement anyway. Looking forward to feeling more hopefully soon! 

JJay, I know what you mean about being worried about natural birth. At first I was pretty happy that the MW thought it might be fine to try for a VBAC. When I thought about it more I realized that I'm quite nervous about the idea, since there's more uncertainty involved (that's even without worrying about the labour pain)! A big part of me feels that things will be a lot safer for the baby if we just decide to do another section. 

About my previous births: 
DS1 was all great until 7 months, then via optional ultrasound we found out he wasn't really growing anymore. I was ordered to stop working and rest as much as possible and had more frequent ultrasounds to monitor his growth (turns out the cause was Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction due to narrow uterine arteries). He was also breech. Around 8 months I was told I'd have to have a section in 1-2 days, since by that stage (36 weeks) he was "safer out than in". He was born healthy but low birth weight (2.2 kg). 
With DS2 I was just over 40 weeks and all looked fine for a VBAC. Since I was a bit overdue and fluid levels were lowish the doctor at the hospital wanted to induce me - I convinced her to let me wait a day as I had heard so many horror stories about induction. I ended up going into labour that night (after a crapload of raspberry leaf tea, lol) but once they began monitoring the baby during my contractions, his heart rate essentially would drop off the charts. *Something* was not right but no one knew what. I was also only 1 cm dilated but contractions were a few mins apart. I agreed to a section. Turned out the umbilical cord was wrapped 3x around his neck :nope: So I'm quite relieved I didn't opt to try to wait and push him out (the contractions were horrible too, lol). It likely would have ended badly. 
I've heard 1x wrapped is pretty normal but 3x doesn't really allow for much movement. He had a big red mark on his neck for a couple of weeks after birth, but all good now! :) 

JJay - What happened in your cases? 

That's really cool about the sling library Miss B! Glad you like the new carrier. 

Dimmu - thanks for the info about carriers! Where in FL are you heading - is it somewhere near the coast? Hope the trip goes smoothly for you. I know what you mean re: travelling for work and how it can suck leaving the fam behind :( Though I also see how it can be a nice break if your partner is away a lot - sympathies JJay! DH used to be out of town for 2 days + 1 night every week, but that ended a couple of years ago (and it was back when we had only 1 kid). I'm also travelling for work for 4-5 days in early Feb, but only within Australia. Much less stressful than going overseas. I'm a scientist and used to travel a lot for research/meetings. Since having kids I have really cut down, but usually go on 1-2 international trips a year (usually one of those with family). DH and I do similar work so often like to try and attend the same conferences, which has its ups and downs.


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## dimmu

Hello everyone, hope you are all well today.

I had a bit of stressful morning, I had my midwife appointment and she wanted to listen to the baby but couldn't find the heartbeat. She said it's common at this stage but I could tell from her face she was concerned, and she kept trying for ages. I also haven't felt the baby move much over the last couple of days, so of course started feeling panicky. The midwife told me not to worry but to go straight to the hospital to be checked just in case. The hospital is just up the road so went straight in. The reception at the maternity unit didn't seem to know where to send me as I'm still under 18 weeks, but as there's no bleeding or anything she wasn't sure what to do and phoned a few people. Made me think this isn't as common then as the midwife was telling me!! In the end I got send to the labour ward where a lovely midwife offered to try and have another listen. She found the heartbeat almost immediately and was really nice and reassuring, she even held my hand for a bit just to convince me it's all good. 
So not exactly the routine appointment I was expecting but at least everything is ok. Phew. 

JJay your jobs sounds great, I would love to do something flexible like that. I think I will really have to find something else after my maternity leave, not only because of the travel, but because of my commute as well. I spend over an hour each way commuting and DH usually takes DD to school in the mornings. I think he just won't be able to cope with getting two kids ready and bringing them to different places. 
Oooh Eva what kind of scientist are you? My background in in chemistry so all my work is for the chemical industry. The conference will be in Orlando but unfortunately no time for disney or anything. Not very excited, I was just in Orlando last year for a different conference and didn't get to see any of it. Will be the same this time. 

And here's my bump as it appeared this morning. Anyone else up for posting a photo yet? :)

https://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u564/hmh3101/Mobile%20Uploads/20160125_094231_crop_560x367-640x419_zpsledy5vc5_edit_1453726641883_zpssb7uw9r4.jpg


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## JJay

Lovely pic Dimmu! You're so nice and slim - your bump is lovely and neat. 

Sorry you had such a stressful morning, what a relief that the midwife at the hospital was able to find the heartbeat straight away for you. I wondered if you might have managed to get another scan but never mind - at least baby is doing well in there. Not long until your next scan now - I'm excited to see if you're having a boy or a girl. 

I hear you with the two kids to two different places thing - it is really hard work! DD started school in September and DS does 3 days in nursery and it's hard work getting everyone ready and to different places. When I'm away I leave detailed instructions along with piles of clean clothes and packed school and change bags for DH. I'm thinking the first year with three will be hard. DS will have started afternoon preschool by then so I'll have DD to school, DS to preschool and the new baby to nursery (from around 4 months or so) with all of the ballet, rugby, swimming, drama etc as well I can understand why parents complain about being taxi drivers! 

Eva your birth experiences are really scary - it must have been so stressful. I was lucky as neither time were they in distress. Although it sounds like it was just bad luck each time and no reason why anything should go wrong for you this time. 

With DD I had no problems in pregnancy and all low risk other than gaining around 70lb and being huge! I had a couple of extra growth scans late on to check baby wasn't going to be huge but she was fine. I went into labour at 40+11 (two days befor I was due induction) and contracted every 10 mins for around 48 hours. I got no sleep as the contractions were painful and I kept calling the hospital but they told be to wait until they were coming every 3-5 minutes. After 48hours they were soooo painful and coming around every 5 minutes, I couldn't bear it and went to hospital to find I was 2-3cm dilated :( I was shattered and disappointed. As I was so overdue they wouldn't let me go home, but I wasn't dilated enough to go to delivery suite either. I was kept overnight on a pre labour ward and finally allowed to delivery the following morning when I was found to be 4-5cm. I was demented by this point from pain and lack of sleep. I really wanted a water birth but I wasn't allowed in the pool due to being so over due. I'd been using hypnobirth techniques to get me that far but gave up and went from gas and air to pethedine (then projectile vomited all over the room) and finally epidural once I hit 7cm. I got to 9 cm but stayed there for another 7 hours. By this point I was very weak and they said I was getting swollen and so was the baby so they recommended a section. I agreed and DD was born at 40+15. The midwife thinks she was in an awkward position and that my pelvis is probably an awkward shape so she was stuck. When she was born she had a very pointy head from pushing down for so long. I found the recovery very long and painful and it was around 6 months before I was more or less pain free and feeling semi normal. 

With DS I was desperate not to go through the section recovery again so I decided to try VBAC. However I went 12 days overdue and he was still high and my cervix closed. The midwife couldn't even reach to do a sweep. He was back to back the same as DD and estimated to be 10-11lb from the growth scans. They were reluctant to induce me due to the previous section and said if I really wanted to they would but I would need to be strapped down and monitored and started off on a low dose. I felt like that was all a recipe for disaster so I caved and went for an elective section. It was a walk in the park compared to DD, had a full nights sleep and a lovely shower before I went in and after an uncomfortable week or two afterwards I felt relatively fine - no agony in my incision like I'd had with DD. 

I'm tempted just to go straight for another section this time but I'll see what the consultant says in Thursday.


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## alihill1109

Hi Ladies!
yikes, I have some catching up to do! Referring to your business travel discussion - well, I travel quite a lot for my job (I'm in business development and sales for a small luxury tequila brand, I manage our smaller markets.) So I was in Colorado all last week, and was just so extremely tired by the end of the day that I couldn't stay awake to be online. Glad to be back this week so I can work/nap as I please :)

Megan - SOOOO happy for you that your scan went well! I've been thinking about you - was very excited to hear this news. I think you also dodged a bullet getting an English Bulldog mix, tbh..the purebred ones seem to have a ton of (very expensive) health issues. So hopefully yours does not have those probs. 

Miss Bellum - You are so lucky to live where you are! I love visiting that part of England, it's breathtaking. I've also been looking at ASOS for maternity clothes - they have some really cute things, if one can call maternity wear cute. 

JJay - you must be so excited to find out the gender, and great news on your healthy scan. You look fantastic in your pic! Must also be very cool to start feeling the baby move - I imagine it must be a lot more "real" after this point. 

Dimmu - Your husband is right, it gets super hot here in the summer and it 's not that pleasant. Hopefully you always visit your relatives in the winter :) You made my mouth water with the suggestion of salmon lasagne, that sounds so good right now. Glad to hear you are also ok with enjoying a glass of wine here and there, I'm really looking forward to my second tri when I feel comfortable indulging a little. And I'm so glad that you were able to find that little heartbeat, what a relief :) and you also look great in your pic! What a cute bump. 

Eva - we had an amazing time in South Africa. We went to Cape Town, the wine country, and 2 safaris in the private reserves outside of Kruger. We also went to Zambia for a few days. Have you also been? So glad to hear your midwife appt went well too, and you must be so relieved about the blood test results being ok. Amazing, the technology they have now to be able to just take your blood and figure a lot of things out. I will be doing my blood test in a few weeks as well. 

AFM - well, I'm 8 weeks today and besides feeling completely exhausted and having boobs that make me feel like Dolly Parton, I'm doing ok. Nausea is intermittent and manageable, some foods/smells disgust me but I can deal. Except for when the woman next to me on my last flight ate a chicken burrito. No bueno.

While in CO I went bra shopping at a maternity wear store and got a little overwhelmed and freaked out with the bra options as well as all the not so great looking clothes. Sigh. Luckily there was a nice and very patient woman there who helped me out a lot. I also bought some tank tops and T-shirts at Target..I definitely don't need them yet but I know I will eventually, and this island is a little short on maternity wear, so I'm trying to get a few things when I'm back in the US so I don't' wake up one day and all I have to wear that covers the bump are some old beach sarongs. I'm hoping maybe I can just stock up on some maxi dresses and be a hippy earthy mama for most of the summer! :thumbup:

As for Zika - well, as you can imagine, it's definitely a little nervewracking living in the Caribbean right now. However, Cayman has not found any cases of Zika here yet (and they have a mosquito research center, so they are very much on top of this.) They also constantly spray here for mosquitoes because they do get really bad. I'm also going to be traveling for most of my 1st trimester and 2nd trimesters - which is going to be a little intense but in all honesty, a big relief. From what I have read, it seems to be affecting the baby during the 1st tri, which makes sense, but it doesn't seem like there is a full consensus on this yet. Anyhow..while I am here, I am staying inside most of the time, and wearing long pants and long sleeves outside, and avoiding dusk/dawn, when mosquitoes are at their worst. I've been applying essential oils and some bug spray too (this also makes me nervous, but I was told it was ok..) 

Megan, I hope you get to go on your trip, would be a bummer to miss it but yeah, Mexico may not be the best option right now. UGH. Sorry :((

Anyhow, nice to see that everyone in all your different stages of pregnancy are doing well and have a lot of exciting things coming up! Hope you all have a great week too :happydance:


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## MeganS0326

So jealous of all of your super cute baby bumps!! And also of all of your really fascinating jobs! I have the best job in the whole wide world but it is anything but glamorous. I'm a SAHM and I love it (for the most part). Prior to DS, I worked in the insurance industry so no glamour there either. :haha: 

I'm not even close to looking for maternity stuff yet but I don't look forward to it. I'm a big girl so finding maternity stuff in plus sizes is even more of a nightmare. When I was pregnant with DS I lived in maxi skirts so I think that is my plan for this go around to.

Ali, so glad to hear from you again! Glad you are doing well. My doggie is awesome, he has very little health stuff from his bulldog genes apart from some mild breathing stuff. Here is a pic. As you can see, he looks nothing like a bulldog. lol 
As for Mexico, I'm kinda leaving it up to what my dr. thinks is best. I see her next on Feb. 16th. FX
 



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## alihill1109

Megan, he's so cute! And I see no bulldog in him at all, lol. You're lucky as ours costs a fortune, it seems. 

Love the maxi skirt idea as well - will have to look into getting some more of those.


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## Miss Bellum

Hi ladies hope you are all doing well. 

No exciting job here , I work in insurance claims. When I go on maternity leave, I will be thinking about a possible change of career. 

On the day I went into labour, I had no idea! I was running around meeting various people all day and most of the evening. I had a few cramps but didnt click. Got home from a meal with friends and felt really uncomfortable so kept getting in & out of the bath. It was 3 weeks before my due date so didnt expect anything to be happening. 

We rang the hospital - I think at first they thought it sounded like there was nothing happening but they asked me to come in & get checked anyway. This is the point at which we realise we hadn't yet got round to packing a hospital bag! 

We rang for a cab and headed up to the shiny new birthing suite at the hospital. It felt like the longest journey in the world and like we were never going to get there. Got in and they took a look at me - They said that the thing I could feel was poo from the baby - she was already pressing on my perineum and was in a breech position. This meant I couldn't stay in the low risk section and had to go back down to the delivery suite. Pretty much got in, put on a gown, hopped on to the table and was told to push! I think within a few minutes of being on the table I pushed a bit and out came our little one! Because little one was breech, but still being delivered vaginally, it felt like every available member of staff came in to see the event which was a bit strange!

Dimnu - I'm sure at some point I'm likely to need advice on the maduca so thanks for you kind offer x 

Your job does sound very exciting! I'd love to be able to be able to travel for work. 

What a stressful midwife appointment! I'd have been really worried too. So pleased everything is fine with your little bean. 

Lovely bump pix. 

Eva - It does feel rather like starting again with the wraps! Ergos are great and I did consider one but I like to be able to cross the straps as its so much easier to put on. What dramatic births you had! Fingers crossed this one is nice and straightforward. 

Jjay - What a great job you have! Sounds very exciting. I'd love to have the break of travel too! My bump is definitely getting bigger but I'm not brave enough to post pictures. Starting to feel movement quite a bit now which is very exciting. Sounds like you have your hands really full with all those trips going on! 

Your daughter's birth sound really tough! Glad the second was a bit earlier. Fingers crossed this one is better for you. 


Wow, a scientist! What a fantastic job.


Allihill - Sounds like a great job! 

I do love our part of the country but it doesnt really compare to the Cayman Isles! 

Sounds like you had a great trip to South Africa. 

Exhaustion is so hard in the first trimester. At least you dont have continuous nausea, hope things continue to improve for you. 

I think I might end up in maxi dresses too 

Megan - I'm in the non-glamorous world of insurance too! I do hope to be able to escape it one day. Hope you have some luck in finding some nice clothes to wear 

What a lovely dog, so very cute.


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## dimmu

Hello Ladies!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day today. DD has given me her cold so feeling rotten today. :( My appointment on Monday also made me feel more anxious again even though everything was fine in the end. I'm not feeling bubs much these days which isn't helping. Hopefully the movements will become more frequent soon. 

JJay your labour experiences sound like hard work! Can't believe you were overdue both times, I always thought the second one would be less likely to be late! Eva yours sound scary! Hopefully things will be smoother for both of you this time. Miss B that's impressive you managed to deliver naturally despite your baby being breech.

My labour with DD now sounds easy in comparison. I wanted to have a natural labour with hypnobirthing, pool, birth centre, all that. I started getting cramps on a Friday evening but initially I thought I was just getting a bad tummy, I was 39+1. Went to the loo and realised my waters were breaking. Called the birth centre to let them know when I realised I was actually getting contractions. They told me to take some paracetamol and go to sleep and give them a call when the contraction get close together and take longer - seriously who manages to sleep when they are having contractions?! Went to the birth centre around midday the next day having had no sleep. Wasn't far enough gone yet to go to the pool so they just put me in a room and a midwife kept checking frequently. On saturday evening, maybe around 7 pm, I was finally told to go to the pool. At that point I was getting quite exhausted so opted for gas&air for some relief. I think that was a mistake, I was so exhausted that the g&a just got me high and I lost focus. My labour stopped progressing and when it came to ~10 pm it had been 24hours since my waters broke. I got told to get out of the pool and was shipped to the labour ward. I needed to be induced to restart the labour and was given epidural which I welcomed with open arms, couldn't have cared any less about hypnobirthing or natural labour at that point! Epidural provided such a relief, I even managed to sleep for an hour. The next morning a junior doctor who examined me wanted to send me to for a cesarean but luckily a more senior doctor told them to give it a couple of hours. DD was born about an hour later, and the second stage took less than 15 minutes, I didn't even need to push, she just came out herself! 

I think this times I'm gonna be tempted to just go with the epi and labour ward and give the birth centre a miss, we'll see. The epidural gave me no issues and I was able to get up and have a shower a couple of hours after giving birth. 

Ali I love the sound of your job, must be so exciting. Although I guess I couldn't cope with that much travelling. Salmon lasagne is a favourite of mine, I make it with gruyere cheese and creme fraiche so it's not for dieters but perfect for pregnant ladies!! :) Glad to hear zika isn't a big threat where you are, hopefully you are well past the first trimester before it finds its way there if it does! Bug sprays, even DEET, are safe to use when pregnant as far as I know. 

JJay I think I mentioned before I have a long torso, that's why I don't look huge yet. Also, that was a morning photo, I look a lot bigger by 5 pm. :) It's definitely gonna be hard work getting two kids to different places, we don't even have a car as we live quite centrally. DD goes to school, will probably have to find a childminder for the baby when he/she is older. But I plan to stay at home as long as I can afford, hopefully at least 7-8 months. I'm pretty sure DH won't be able to cope with getting two kids ready!!

Megan I'm quite jealous you're a SAHM, unfortunately it's not an option for me. I earn more than DH and both of us have to work to pay for bills, we only bought our place a couple of years ago so the mortgage is still quite costly. Your doggy is gorgeous! 

Miss B I will also look into changing jobs after this baby, hopefully to something with a shorter commute and less if any travel. I came up with an easy way to do the manduca cross carry, not sure if it's on youtube yet. I'm wondering whether to get the new manduca, the sleep hood on the old one is very small. Is it bigger now, like in an ergo?


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## eva1978

Hello ladies! I loved hearing your birth stories! I can't imagine being told "just take some pain killers and sleep through the contractions!"... then going a whole other day of it. How exhausting! 

Wow dimmu what a stressful appointment :( glad things turned out fine in the end. I understand how you feel a bit uneasy now because of it though. Did they tell you the heartrate? If they didn't seem worried then probably all is ok and bubs was just lying in a tough spot to reach. I remember with DS2 I sometimes had trouble finding him even this far along. 

Something kinda weird happened at my GP appt today. I had not seen my GP in a month or so. Anyway - he gave me a referral for my next scan (should be in ~2 weeks). He found my blood pressure to be a bit low and he decided to get the doppler and (I assume) try to find the baby. He found my placenta and thus my heartrate, but I *know* he didn't find the baby's (he was also not looking in the spots where I normally find it myself). At some point he said "all sounds good!" and packed it away. I was a bit confused... then he said "heart rate sounds fine". .... ? Yet I know he didn't find the baby's, lol?!?! I just let it go - since I know I can just find it myself. But it was a bit weird. Did he not know what he was doing? Or did he only try to find the placenta since that's easier and somehow that's reassuring? No idea. 

Chemistry - cool! I'm an astronomer. Not sure if I'll still be doing it in a couple of years since it's difficult to find a permanent position. Still, it pays the bills and is generally an enjoyable and flexible job. 

Very cute bump pic! Sorry you caught a cold. Sucks to be pregnant and sick but not really allowed to take any meds. 

The whole driving kids to multiple daycares/schools (and other activities) is indeed a bit of a challenge! This past year our older son was in 2 preschools, and our little one is in daycare 3x per week (similar to your situation, JJay - do you go to work 3 days/week too)? 
I don't know when we'll try to get a daycare spot for the new baby, but I'm thinking starting Jan. 2017 for 3 days/week. In that year our 3 kids will be doing the 3 different places thing... ugh... it's going to be crazy, right?! :wacko: 

We also need to get a different car. Our current one isn't big enough for 3 carseats! 
Anyone else have a suitable car or thinking of a larger one? We have a RAV4 and it is not gonna cut it! 

Thanks for your birth stories JJay. The first birth sounds so insanely difficult... contractions every 10 mins for 48 hours (and beyond)?!! Hopefully nothing like that happens this time. Glad to hear you and the baby were (eventually) ok. I wonder what the consultant will say. Please keep us updated! 

Sounds like you have a fun job ali! Hmm... do they want any astronomers? ;-) I've been to South Africa a few times since I have family there. Also been to Kruger, but not since I was a child! It was great - one of the highlight trips of my life. Cape Town is awesome too! Take care of yourself with the zika virus prevention... sounds like you're already doing that though, which is great. 

Thanks for the maxi skirt/dress ideas, I hadn't thought of that! It's still summer here for a little while longer so probably worth looking into soon. Nice doggie Megan! 

Wow Miss B that's crazy! :) How did it feel delivering a breech baby? 
The hospital I chose for my neonatal care did not do breech deliveries (I guess it's a "lost art" these days, lol)! Sounds scary, but great it all went OK! 3 weeks before due date must have been quite a shock! 

I've attached a bump pic. 16 weeks!
 



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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - Sorry you've picked up a cold, hope it clears quickly. 

I havent really seen a Ergo so cant compare size, sorry! The hood on the manducca seems pretty big though. 

It is a bit difficult to sleep through contractions! What a long time, you must have been exhausted by the end. At least it all went well. 


Eva - what a weird appointment! Do you think he may just have been just been measuring your heart rate?

Astronomer! What a fantastic job. 

It was a bit of a surprise! In all honesty I think I got off quite lightly and the pain was no where near what I expected. Just as well as there was no time for pain relief! Didn't need stiches or anything. If anyone had known lg was breech, I'd probably have been forced into a C-section as our hospital dont usually allow breech births either. 
Great bump pix


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## JJay

Hi everyone,

I've loved reading all of the birth stories, it just goes to show how different the experience is for everyone! 

Eva, your appointment sounds very strange?! Do you think he mistook your heartbeat for the babies? - or was just in a rush for his lunch?! We have s landrover as we live in the country, it's quite big so I think we will fit three seats across the middle no problem- there are also two pop up seats in the back so I guess it will be fine. I don't really want to think about how long it's going to take to get everyone ready and in their car seats - we'll have to start planning an outing hours before we need to be somewhere! Ps your bump is lovely! 

Miss B it sounds like you had a great birth experience- I hope this one goes the same :) 

Dimmu, your labour sounds like hard work but great that you had a good experience with the epi so you know what you want this time! 

Ali, your job sounds fab, I love travel so would love a job involving a bit more than mine does now - although I guess that's not really practical for me at the moment. 

I had my consultant appointment today, I'd assumed she would just recommend an elective section but it didn't go quite as expected. She asked if I would like an elective section or vbac and said they would support me in either choice. She asked if my sections had been uncomplicated and I said yes as far as I knew no complications. She then checked my records and said my last section had in fact been quite complicated! She said there were lots of adhesions and scar tissue, my bladder was stuck to my womb and my womb was twisted with the adhesions so much so that they couldn't see one of my Fallopian tubes. I had no idea - they didn't tell me any of that! She said the twisted womb and tube must be OK as I've managed to get pregnant again but that third sections can be more difficult and complicated anyway so with all of the adhesions and scar tissue I have a higher risk of bladder or bowel damage :( 

I asked if she would therefore recommend vbac and she says it depends on the baby's size. As DS was a big baby they want to monitor growth and if forecast to be large again she would definitely recommend the section. She has booked me in for extra scans at 28 and 34 weeks to check growth and discuss the birth again. She said I need to decide at 34 weeks which way to go - although she said they will only allow me to go to 40+10 and won't induce so I'd have to have an ELCS at that point anyway. As DD was born at 40+15 and DS at 40+12 I think I probably won't have gone into labour by then anyway! 

It's made me feel a bit worried about the birth but I guess there is nothing I can do so may as well wait and see what happens later on. At least I will get regular glimpses of baby with the extra scans :)


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## eva1978

Interesting they didn't even know baby was breech! If amnio levels are high enough I guess they can keep flipping around until the birth :) 

I'm not sure what the GP was doing with the doppler lol! I think he probably thought he was hearing the baby... which is a bit sad! Though perhaps I misunderstood exactly what he was trying to achieve. I should have asked for clarification. 

JJay thanks for the tips about the Landrover! We've been considering that plus a few other options. Still have some time though! :) We'll only buy something used so still looking around. 

That's a bit unsettling to hear about those complications :-/ kind of annoying that you weren't informed and you only find out now through your consultation. At least you have some time to let it sink in and think it over some more, but still not ideal :wacko: You have the right attitude though! More scans is a good thing! :)


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## alihill1109

Happy Friday (or Saturday, for some of you?) ! 
It's so great to hear all of your birth stories. This being my first, I have no idea what to expect, but really appreciate learning about it from other people and my friends. I think I've just now come to terms with the idea that this baby will be getting out of me somehow, haha. 

I'm also going to be changing my career a bit after baby, sounds like a few of you are also on that path. I love my job and have been doing it for so long now, but I don't think traveling as much as I do and new family duties would be a good fit. My DH runs a company here so he already needs a lot more help with the dogs when I'm awayI can only imagine how it will be with a baby. 

Miss Bellum - what an amazing birth story, how incredible that they didnt' know your baby was breech! Wow. 

Dimmu - hope you feel better soon, and happy to hear that your appt went ok. Interesting to hear that you also have a long torso! I am nearly 9 weeks and only look faintly different at night, when the bloating is an issue. When do you really start showing? I'm going to look up recipes for salmon lasagne :) 

Eva1978 - how great that you're an astronomer! What a fascinating career that must be. Lots of respect for women who pursue science as a career (I did but then ended up in businessgo figure.) We are really looking forward to going back to S. Africa, but I've been wanting to visit Australia for years. What part of Australia do you live in? 

JJay - crazy that they didn't mention to you the complications you had the last time with your C-section. Nice that you can have the extra scans though to help you figure out what you're going to do. 

Not much going on with me, except now there is a huge panic about the Zika virus. It still hasn't been detected here, but I was told to take precautions as we do have the type of mosquito here that carries it. Lucky for me it's winter, which is still like summer but less humid and hot, so I can wear long sleeves and pants outside without dying of heat. DEET has been approved for pregnant women so I do apply that although I hate it. I'm avoiding going outside during certain times of the day too. Figures that I wait my entire life to have a baby and then this happens! haha. I'm leaving Monday for Atlanta for the week and then we're taking a vacation to Aspen, so that's another 2 weeks where I won't have to be concerned about it. 

I hope all of you have a great weekend! Love seeing the bump pics, you all look fantastic!


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## MeganS0326

Hi!!!

Hope you lovely ladies are all doing well!

Miss B - I don't blame you for wanting to get out of the insurance game. It's boring as snot. :haha: Do you know what other careers you are leaning towards? I dread the day when I go back to work because I suspect I'll end up back in insurance again. Boo!

dimmu - Sorry about your appointment going so poorly. But I'm glad it all got resolved. So scary!

Eva1978 - Cute bump pic! Sorry about your weird appointment, too! What is up with these wacky medical professionals. Hmmp!

Jjay - Having to have a CS is one of my worst nightmares. I really hope you can go for a VBAC. But that is good news that you will get some extra scans out of this.

Alihill- good luck with the job change. Your current job sounds so cool. I'd never want to change. But I understand that having kids changes your whole world!! So scary about this Zika stuff. It sounds like you have a good plan in place to avoid any complications. I'm so worried about my Dr telling me not to go on our trip to Mexico. I know whatever happens is for the best but I will be so bummed if I don't get to go!!

AFM - I guess I will get in on the birth story sharing. I'm not to fond of my story so I will try to give a short version. I think I still have a bit of PTSD when I think about certain parts of DS birth. Here goes:

Due to increased blood pressure I was sent in for induction on my due date (Wednesday) and was on cervidil until early Friday morning. Once I was put on pitocin things moved quickly. Got my epidural and everything was going good. My labor was very quick which I think surprised everyone, especially the on call dr who at this point was not my dr but one of her colleagues. I only pushed for about 30 minutes when DS was ready to come out. By this time the stupid Dr was nowhere to be found. They made me stop pushing and wait. So we waited and waited and they paged her and paged her with no luck. (I joked with DH that she must have had to take a massive poop :haha:) So much time went by with me just sitting there waiting they finally sent out an emergency page for any available dr on the ward to come deliver DS. By the time a dr arrived and I pushed DS out (before she even had time to put on something to cover up the street clothes she was in) DS was born in major distress. He was not breathing and was blue and unresponsive and barely had a HB. They worked on him for about 5 minutes to get him breathing. It was the scariest time of my whole life. I still have to try not to cry even thinking about it. Once they got him breathing they rushed him to the NICU. He was born at @2:13 pm and I didn't get to see him until 9pm that night. I'm so hopeful that this time around we will have no complications!


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## eva1978

Hi everyone! Saturday night here! I guess it's around lunch time or quite early for the rest of you! 

Ali - isn't it quite freaky when you actually feel the reality of having to get the baby OUT, somehow, lol! I'm also curious to know what job options you may be considering. It's true that it becomes difficult and sometimes a lot less fun to travel once you have kids - even with dogs you can't just pack up and go! (even with chickens, lol). I've found it a bit difficult to stay afloat in my career since having kids, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. Chances are decent that DH and I will also be making a career change in the next 1-2 years. Not sure to what though! 
I saw the heightened warning about zika - scary. Sounds like you're playing it smart and I guess the risk is low where you are anyway. Have a safe trip! 

Megan - yikes your birth story is terrifying :( thank you so much for sharing it. I can't believe they actually suggested to you to "stop pushing" just to wait for that one doctor. That sounds completely asinine of them!!! It makes me so angry. But I'm so happy that your DS (and you) made it and he is OK now. I found the documentary 'the business of being born' quite useful, as (even though I'm not in the US) it had a lot to say about the medical system there and the treatment of pregnant women in general. 
Hopefully your Mexico trip can go ahead! If it doesn't work out soon then maybe you can postpone? Who knows though how this zika outbreak will go... sounds like it's expanding quite quickly. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I will probably be MIA for a while since I'll be on a business trip next week. DS1 has his first day of kindergarten on Monday :-0 I postponed my trip by a few hours so I can be there on his first morning to drop him off. I'm pretty sad I won't be around when he gets home. I'm also (gulp) missing DS2's 2nd birthday this week, which is very tough :cry: We did birthday shopping for him today and DH and I decided he can have one gift on his bday and we'll skype, then we'll do a real celebration next weekend. Anyway... it will be OK. I've already laid out outfits for the boys and packed some things so DH has a tad less work while I'm gone! I'm sure he'll be exhausted!


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## dimmu

Just a very quick update, decided to have another scan today as my appointment the other day left me feeling anxious and also found this place that does them fairly cheaply. 

Anyway, all is looking well, all measurements are spot on and it's a little girl!:)
DD is over the moon, and DH is pleased as well as he was hoping for another girl too.
So excited! 
Will write a bit more another time.


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu -Yey for another girl :) Congrats and must be reassuring that all is fine. 


Jjay - Wow, can't believe there were so many compications they didnt tell you about! Hope it doesn't affect you have the birth you'd like this time around. At least you will get the extra peeks at the baby. 

Eva - Good luck with car buying hope you get something you like. Changing careers is such a big step and it is hard to decide what to do for the best. Hope your little boy enjoys his first day at kindy. 
Happy birthday to DS2. It must be hard to be away but hope you are still able to enjoy a little alone time 

Ali - sounds like you have the right attitude to birth! So many times the plan just goes out the window so I think it s best to be prepared to change to what works. The Zika virus must be worrying, hope it continues to stay away. Have a great trip to Atlanta and enjoy Aspen. 

Megan - Yep insurance is pretty dull, I do worry about getting struck it in for years. I'm not entirely sure what I'd like to do next. I am quite keen on going into psychology or mental health nursing. However in the UK they used to give a bursary and fund the cost of nursing degrees but they are talking about scrapping it. If they do I'm likely to be stuck as I dont think we can afford for me to go back to uni with no financial help. 

What a birth story! Must have been so scary glad your lo was fine. Fingers crossed it will be easier this time around.


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## Mrs W 11

Hi ladies,

Sorry I have missed so much! Had a period of feeling so rough that I have been reading along but didn't have the strength to do a proper response! I am slowly starting to feel better now though, still exhausted but less nauseas which is lovely!!

Absolutely loved reading all of the birth stories and love the bump pics, you guys are all really blooming!! No bump here yet, still a bit early, just a food bloat!!

Dimmu - That's really odd about your dr appointment! Congrats on being team pink!! So glad to hear baby is doing well. 

JJay - Interesting that your cs being complex wasn't mentioned to you. Its good that you'll be monitored closely and see baby in extra scans. If dc2 came 3 days earlier than dc1 you might have the baby by 40+10! Fingers crossed. 

Eva - Good luck with your trip away. Sorry to hear youll miss ds2s 2nd bday but its lovely you've a wkend of celebratiosn planned. We have a mazda cx-5, quite big although we will only have 2 car seats to fit. Huge boot though for prams, bikes etc.

Megan - Sorry to read your birth story, I am not surprised how upset you feel when you think about it. So glad your ds was ok. I had a tough time to but I was so grateful that it was me who was ill not my dd, that would have been much worse.

Ali - Sounds like you are taking all the precautions you can with the zika virus, scary stuff but you sound well protected. I have worked in sales too in the past, but now I do projects for a sales team as I am very part time!

Miss B - wow you don't hear of many people having a natural breech birth, just goes to show it can happen and be uncomplicated, well done you. Glad you didn't know before and get forced into a cs.

Hope I havent missed anyone, sorry if I have, will try and keep up and post a bit more often! I am still waiting to hear when my 12 week scan will be, really annoying, hoping it will be soon. Have had so much anxiety, desperate to now baby is ok in there. 

I am another who might be having an elective section this time. I was induced at 40+14 with dd and although the pessary started labour, I stopped progressing around 7cm. The drip didn't bring baby down and consultant decided she was transverse. After 24 hours of labour I had an emcs. I then had a major pp heamorrage and lost 2.5 litres of blood. I was very poorly indeed and was taken to intensive care without my dd. My mil was allowed to stay on labour ward with her for the first 24 hours until I was allowed back and the midwives bought her to me to bf every 3 hours (I demanded!). They said at a follow up that I have a good chance of a natural birth next time if I go into labour spontaneously and if I progress well. I cant be induced again so will have a cut off date for elcs if I decide to try for a vbac. My hesitation is if I labour, I might bleed again. If I have an elcs they can guarantee I wont bleed and so def wont be separated from the baby. But of course Id love to avoid surgery if I can. Will see what the consultant at my new hospital says and how it pans out.

Phew.... that was long! Sorry ladies. Night all xxx


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## eva1978

hello, I had some time to check in! business trip is going well but I really miss my boys! Thank you for the well-wishes :) it does help me feel a bit better. In 3 more days I'll be back home! 

Wow Mrs W 2.5 L of blood loss...!!!!! That is very scary! I only lost 0.5 L with my first c-sect and I think that's pretty standard. Did you need a blood transfusion? That's good they let you bf every few hours, good on you for demanding! Why can't you be induced next time -- is this because you've already had one section, or for other reasons? I hear mixed things about induction post-C-sect being OK/ not OK. 
Thanks for the info on the mazda!

Great to hear about your scan dimmu! Congrats on the new little girl! :)


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## Miss Bellum

Mrs W1 - Sorry you've been feeling ill. The first weeks can be so difficult. Glad you are starting to feel better. 

Sounds like a very scary first time experience! I hope it goes more smoothly this time round. 

Eva - Glad your trip is going well. Not long to go now.


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## dimmu

Hi Everyone!

Sorry about the lack of messages, the last few days have been incredibly hectic. Have lots to prepare at work before jetting off to Florida next week, and have taken the following week off as a holiday (school holiday here) and on top of that DD has been poorly. She's better now and back at school. I'm not looking forward to my work trip, I'm only going to be away for three days but it includes two 9 hour flights. Gonna get some flight socks and will try and get an aisle seat so that I can get up frequently. That will be a bit annoying on the flight back as it's overnight so would be nice just to sleep through it as much as I can. 

Jjay - sorry to hear about your previous complications, quite incredible that you had no idea!! Why can't they induce you earlier if they know your history and the risk associated with another section? But more scans is definitely a good thing! I think I'm addicted to scans now, don't think I can wait from 20 weeks to her birth and will probably book another private scan or two in between... Kind of hoping that when I have my OB appointment after the glucose test they'll do another scan then as well! 

Eva - your GP appointment sound a bit weird. Maybe the doctor was happy to just hear the whooshing sound coming from the placenta and assumed as it's there the baby must be fine.. Hope your business trip is going well. Sorry you missed your son's birthday, but at least at that age they don't really know much difference between the actual date and the celebrations. Do you still have to do much travelling during your pregnancy? This should hopefully my last trip overseas, I don't mind a trip or two to continental Europe if I have to, at least they're shorter. 
Lovely bump pic by the way!

Ali - you have a good attitude towards giving birth! I'm lucky my experience wasn't too bad, just took a bit longer than I would have liked. I'm actually dreading the third trimester more than giving birth, had all sorts of (minor) complaints and lots of discomfort towards the end, some of which a bit embarrassing. 
It's nice that you enjoy your job, I don't really like mine that much but it pays fairly well and I'm the main breadwinner in our family so it really counts. But think I will definitely have to look into changing jobs and probably a pay cut as I want to be there when my kids grow up, wouldn't want to be one of those mums always travelling or staying at work until late. Guess we'll just have to tighten our belts and get on with it! 
Let me know if you can't find a good salmon lasagne recipe and I'll pm you mine!!! :) 

Megan - sorry to hear about your birth experience, that's just terrifying! Are you giving birth in the same hospital again? I hope you at least get a different consultant this time, best to speak through your previous experience with them to make sure it won't be repeated, I'm sure it's very unlikely something like that could happen again though. 
I heard some airlines, at least AA and united I think, are letting you change your flights free of charge because of the Zika outbreak. Perhaps you could go somewhere else instead? Even if your Dr would say it's ok to go you would probably worry the whole time, or at least I know I would! 

Miss B - how are you getting on? Are you gonna find out the sex at your 20 week scan? Have you tried the Manduca with your daughter yet? 

Mrs W - your experience sounds scary as well, hopefully things will go more smoothly this time. Have you heard anything yet about your scan? Glad to hear you nausea is getting better, hopefully it will be all but gone soon. 

I hope I haven't forgotten anyone! xxx


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## Miss Bellum

Had a midwife appointment today, nothing really exciting, just checking blood pressure etc. All fine. My carbon monoxide reading was down to 2 so that was a relief. 

Dimmu - Hope your LG is feeling better now. 

I haven't tried the manducca yet, I've been a bit lazy and havent got round to trying it yet. We do hope to find out the sex at the 20 week scan, not much longer to go now. 

I'd love your salmon lasagna recipe, it sounds great.


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## MeganS0326

Had my scan today and all is good!! So happy to see that little heartbeat (173bpm)!!! Had to cancel our Cabo trip so I'm a tiny bit bummed but healthy baby is so much more important!

I hope you are all doing well!!
 



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## Joccy

Hello! Are there any Facebook groups for ladies expecting in July?


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## dimmu

Megan that's great news about the scan!!! So pleased to hear it's all going well. 

Sorry to hear that you had to cancel your trip but I'm sure I would have done the same, not worth the risk. Are you heading somewhere else instead?

My work trip next week also got cancelled. I mentioned to my boss that I had seen reports that there have been cases of zika in Florida, although all travel related. He went online and read about it and decided that they can't let me travel there even if there isn't really any risk yet. I wasn't looking forward to going but had spent a lot of time preparing and it was a great thing career-wise, so feeling a bit bummed now. But guess it's not worth it having to worry for the next 4-5 month if I get bitten by a mosquito there. 

Miss B glad your appointment went well. Have you got a date for your 20 week scan yet? 
Lol I guess I have to write down the recipe at some point then! :)


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## MeganS0326

dimmu - sorry you are bummed to about cancelled trip. This whole virus thing really stinks!! I live in South Texas and we have the mosquito that carries the virus here too and have had a few travel related cases confirmed in the area so canceling my trip does not get me completely out of the woods. The trip we had planned was not one we paid for. It was a free trip to an all inclusive resort that my DH got from a vendor that his company uses. We don't have the $$ to plan a trip on our own so no plans to reschedule the trip or anything.


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## Mrs W 11

Eva - Sorry to hear you were missing your boys, hopefully you are home sweet home today? Yes I did have a blood transfusion after my pph, I think induction increases the risks of a longer labour and therefore a bleed so for me, if I don't go into labour the risks of a repeat performance are too high. Having said that I am at a new hospital now so we will see what they say.

Dimmu - Sorry to hear your trip got cancelled but its good you don't need to do the long flights or worry about zika. Yes please to salmon lasgne recipe!!

Megan - Congrats on the scan, how fantastic!! Really happy for you and wonderful to have pece of mind that all is as it should be. Sorry you had to cancel your trip, what a shame, especially when it was free and sounds amazing but as you say just not worth the risk to baby. Lots more opportunities for family holidays in future. 

Miss B - Glad your midwife appointment went well. I didn't realise your cm reading had been up, I had one at my booking in and it came back as high and she just said it hadn't been working?! Quite worrying.

I had my 12 week scan yesterday and all was fine!! I really thought id be ready to shout from the rooftops and be more confident once I got to 12 weeks but I don't really. Maybe once I can feel baby moving I will feel better. Was lovely to see baby wriggling around though! Weather is rubbish here this weekend so just cosying up indoors!!


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## eva1978

Hello ladies, 

sorry to hear about the trip cancellations. A last-minute change in schedule (especially when you've been thinking/preparing for things a lot) always leads to some bumps in the road, but overall I guess it's "for the best" :) and you can be worry-free about zika (well not completely for Megan, but the risks are probably lowered)! 

My business trip went well. I got back Friday evening and both boys were still awake :) I had bought them some small gifts and they were very happy, of course ;-) We are celebrating my 2 yo's bday later this aft when he wakes from his nap (the weekend so far has been too hectic)! 

Congrats on your scan Mrs W!! How lovely to see the bouncing little one in there :) I know what you mean though about still not feeling 'out of the woods'. I am 17.5 weeks and still feel that way! I've seen some friends on facebook who are due after me have already widely announced, but I still haven't. Perhaps before the end of Feb. I just started feeling the baby move a bit more from yesterday, not sure if he/she changed positions? I remember with DS1 who was breech almost the whole time I felt not much movement the whole pregnancy. But with DS2 (who was flipped the 'right' way), I felt a lot more. Also for the first time yesterday I saw some movement from the outside! :kiss: 

Miss B when is your 20 week appt? Good luck on finding out the gender! Hopefully the legs aren't crossed ;-) 

Dimmu I hope your third tri with this baby is easier than your last. Glad DD recovered! 
I completely feel the same re: not wanting to be a mom who is always working/jetting around and/or working late. Though last and next week it will be that way for me :-/ but at least it's only temporary. I have to go to Canada for a job interview in a few days. Yikes! It was arranged pretty last-minute. But this may be our only shot as a permanent job (plus it's closer to "home" for me), so my husband encouraged me to go in person rather than do a 2-hr skype interview (which would have been terrible anyway with the time change)! 
Anyone have any recommendations on handling a 16 hr flight *while* 18 weeks preggo? haha. This is not the first time I'm flying overseas pregnant but the main flight is very long. Do you think it's a good idea to wear compression tights? I will probably post something in the Tri 2 board. 

Joccy if you're still here - no idea about facebook groups. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - sorry your trip was cancelled but guess better safe than sorry! 

Next scan is 25th Feb so not long to go now 

Megan - Sorry your trip got cancelled how disappointing. 

Mrs W11 - Great news on your scan. Its always nice to see bean wiggling away. 

Not very reassuring to be told the carbon machine was broken! I got an amber reading of 4 at my booking in appointment. There doesnt appear to be any real reason for it. I do live in a city so its possible it was just traffic fumes. Could be something similar?

Rubbish weather here too so pretty much indoor time as well. 

Eva - glad your trip went well. Wow travelling to Canada for a job interview sounds very glam! Fingers crossed for you. Sorry have no travel tips for you but hope it goes well.


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## JJay

Hi Everyone! 

Sorry I've not been around for a while, work and life have been very busy and nothing really new to report so I've just been popping on briefly for a quick catch up every so often. 

Sorry to hear about the cancelled trips but I guess better to be safe and have the peace of mind. It is really scary reading about the virus and I think I would prefer to cancel if it was me. 

Glad you're back home Eva, I hope the birthday celebrations to well. I have flown long haul before at 24 weeks. I didn't wear the socks but I made sure to walk around and move my feet regularly. 

Mrs W so pleased to hear your 12 week scan went well, have you got any pics?

Miss B did they say they would check your cm levels again? I had mine checked at booking in and the reading was 1 - they haven't mentioned it again since. Your scan is 4 days before mine - are you going to find out pink or blue?

No news from me other than my bump is growing daily and I look very heavily pregnant- I've developed a waddle already. As I felt movement so early on I had expected it to be stronger than it is by now. It has got more frequent and definite but I still go some days without feeling anything. I am sure I felt stronger more frequent movement with my first two by now as I remember seeing and feeling movement from the outside by 18/19 weeks before. Strange as they both had anterior placentas and this one is posterior. Hopefully it will increase soon as it's worrying on the days I don't feel anything.


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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - I felt baby quite early but I also go for days without feeling movement as well. My mw said it was quite normal at this stage and they wouldnt expect to feel movement daily until 20 weeks. I know it is worrying not to feel anything though 

They didn't offer another cm test, I asked as I was a bit worried by the results of the first one


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## eva1978

Hi all, just quickly popping in! Frantically getting ready for my trip tomorrow. 

I also sometimes go a day without feeling movement and it has gotten me a bit worried sometimes. So - same boat! Probably everything is OK for everyone as it's still before ~24 weeks which I think is the time (or is it 28 weeks??) when one should start counting kicks. So far the doppler has been reassuring. Heartbeat now is usually around 145 bpm.

I've never heard of cm testing before... I don't think I've had it done! 

I have my next scan the same week as you Miss B (23 Feb morphology scan, then OB visit 25 Feb). Thanks for crossing fingers :) I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment. In 24 hrs I'll be well on my way. 

Hope your work settles down a bit soon, JJay!


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## JJay

Safe journey Eva X


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## dimmu

Hi all, hope you're all doing well.

Megan that's a real bummer that it was a free trip and you can't go somewhere else instead. Hopefully the zika virus won't be too much of a threat for you yet and you'll be safely past the 20 week mark before the mozzies become more common. It sounds like Florida is more under threat as they have the mozzies all year and they have so much water there. From my limited experience (only been to Dallas and Orlando for work for a few days) the climate in Florida seems much more mozzie friendly!! When is your next scan?

Mrs W great news about your scan!! :happydance: I also thought I'd feel more relaxed after the 12 week scan but didn't happen. Ended up having an extra private scan at 16 weeks for reassurance as wasn't feeling the baby that much. I think I was much more relaxed with my last pregnancy, must be all the bad press there is about pregnancies at over 35 as I was only 32 when I was last pregnant. 

Eva you must be on your way to Canada now, hope it all goes well. That's pretty amazing, I hope you get the job!! I really wanted to be an astronomer when I was younger, either that or a geophysicist, but in the end ended up doing something more practical but much more boring. 

JJay I also still can't feel the baby every day and I'm 18 weeks today. I have felt her more though and I think it's easier now to tell when it's hear and not just something gastric, but the movement are still very sporadic. I also get worried if I haven't felt anything all day, and I can't stimulate her to move either by prodding or poking or anything. Not seen any movement from outside yet. 

Miss B I also have my next scan the same week as you, on Monday the 21st. Not long to go now, can't believe we are half way there soon!! 

Not much else going on here, should be in Florida right now but I'm working from home instead, can't complain to be honest. I'm also on holiday all next week, gonna visit my mum for a week. She lives in a different country so only see her a few times a year. Will be nice to have some time off and eat my mum's food, this will now be my last break before the maternity leave. I plan to save the rest of my annual leave and take it all at the end so that I can have a few weeks to relax before the baby is born but still get paid, although hoping to do some painting and such in our flat then. 
I'll try and type up the lasagne recipe before I go away! :)


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## JJay

Hey how is everyone?

Nothing much to report here except a steadily growing bump. Movement is very gradually getting more but still a lot less than is expected by now and compared with DD and DS. I'm still reaching for my Doppler every couple of days. I'm also finding I'm constantly hungry and a total chocolate monster - I need to try and rein it in before I pile too many lbs on. 

It's DS's birthday on Monday so we've got a weekend of parties and presents to look forward to. 

I hope everyone else is ok - I think there are a lot of scans coming up next week? I'm looking forward to seeing all the pics. Mine is on the 29th so I'll update and also take another bumpie at some point.


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## Miss Bellum

Hi Jjay - Glad alls well. Happy birthday to your DS for Monday. 

No news here either, just plodding on. Have our scan on Thursday so looking forward to seeing bean again (and finding out the sex) 

Hope everyone else is doing well.


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## balabusta

I'm 42, and 21 weeks along.


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## dimmu

Hello everyone!
Seems to be quiet here these days, hopefully it means everyone's pregnancies are going smoothly!! :)

Welcome along balabusta! How has your pregnancy been for you thus far, is this your first?

All is fine here, just back from a half term break and dreading going back to work. Luckily I work from home tomorrow as have my 20 week scan in the afternoon. Quite nervous about it, especially as I'm going on my own now, hubby forgot to book the time off work and now it's too late. :dohh: I didn't want to reschedule as he's not that bothered about missing it, and I don't want to wait any longer!

JJay I'm also feeling the baby more but it's still very sporadic. There's no pattern to the movements, and some days I feel lots and others hardly any. I've not found the courage to weigh myself, think I've now started putting on the pounds big time. DH said my arse has gotten bigger, serves me right for asking. :haha: Well situation is not gonna improve over the next few days, just stocked up with choc and sweets at the airport on our way back. 

Good luck with all the scans, let us know how they go. Miss B any idea which one it's gonna be? Exciting!! :happydance:


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## MeganS0326

Jealous of all you ladies with upcoming scans. I opted out of the NT test so I won't get a 12 week scan so it's going to be FOREVER until I get to see my squishy again. 

Dimmu - glad you had a good break. Hopefully getting back into the swing of things goes well tomorrow!

JJay - happy birthday to your son!!

Welcome, balabusta!

Miss B - any thoughts on if you are team pink or blue??


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## Miss Bellum

Welcome Balabusta 

dimmu - Good luck with your scan tomorrow, sure it will be fine xx 

Are you going to find out the sex? Any preference? I have absolutely no idea which ours is. My aunt & mum both think boy. A few ladies said boy based on the 12 weeks scan. I will be happy either way but think I do have preference to a lg. 

Movement is still patchy here too. 



Megan - What a shame that you wont get a 12 week scan. We didnt have the NT test either but we were still given the scan to confirm all was well.


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## eva1978

Hey everyone! 

I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long. The interview overseas was just a whirlwind, I got back a week ago. For the last few days I've had no internet since we had booked a long weekend stay at a beach house by the coast. Was very nice :) though bad timing in terms of all the work I have to do :-/ 

Dimmu how was your scan today? :) Did you find out the sex? 
That's cool you wanted to be an astronomer :) I also nearly went into geophysics since it was the field I liked that was closer to home. Ended up going away to do the astro... been moving around ever since. It's been a good experience but tougher now with the kids. The job interview went quite well, but I'm not holding my breath. I know they interviewed a few other people. I should know something in a couple of weeks. 
Hope you had a great time with your mom! 

Happy birthday to your DS, JJay! How was it? Wow, my DS's bday is tomorrow (Tuesday)! Feb is a busy bday month for us. I made some brownies for DS's kindergarten class, though I have no idea if they are even "allowed" to serve them there. If not, we probably won't have any trouble getting rid of them ;)

Miss B - exciting that you will find out the sex this week! 
I have my morphology scan tomorrow but I'm going to ask them to not reveal the sex. I'm wondering though that maybe by looking at the screen I may find out... if it's a boy anyway, lol. May have to look away at times! Like dimmu I'll also be going alone, DH has too much stuff to do. I'm assuming we're having another boy though! The midwife had a hunch for girl but a couple other people have guessed boy. Either way, we want to be surprised this time. 

Megan - do you have a future scan date booked? Until when do you have to wait? 

Hi Balabusta - Hi! hope you've been feeling OK this pregnancy?


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## dimmu

Hello again everyone,

I had my scan today and everything looks fine. At one point the sonographer started saying that the baby looks small on something, but never finished the sentence. I asked her twice after if everything was ok and she said yes, hopefully she would have told me if there was something unusual. 
She also thought that it looks like a little girl, so that's two scans now saying it's a girl, perhaps I can believe it now!! :happydance: 

Below a couple of pictures, baby was all curled up making it hard to take some of the measurements!

https://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u564/hmh3101/20160222_163318_crop_498x412-320x265_zpsqxpbll9b.jpg

https://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u564/hmh3101/20160222_163329_crop_494x382-320x247_zpsjfmt96ns.jpg

Eva glad to hear your trip went well. When will you find out about the job? I'm still amazed you are actually working as an astronomer, that's incredible. Sometimes I wish I would have become one, or a geophysicist! Especially when I'm stuck in the office for months...

Megan I hope the next few weeks will go quickly for you. I feel like things have started going quicker since my MS ended, can't believe I'm half way there now!

Miss B good luck with you scan, let us know how it goes!!


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## LLawson

Hi, Do you mind if I join?
Im 9 weeks today. I had a tubal reversal 3 yrs ago and tried for a little over 2 yrs and gave up last Summer and now Im pregnant naturally. I had been on Clomid over a year and had 6 IUIs and told that was the only way I would get pregnant because of my tilted cervix and age. I was stressed from all the charting, temping, meds etc. so I quit cold turkey. I do still take Metformin but that was it so I was in total shock when I got a positive test last month.
Ive already had an ultrasound at 7 weeks and everything looked great with a great heartbeat but I cant help to be scared because of the risks. Im 45 and this happened so easy.
I wanted to join your group because Im about to burst! I need to talk to people about it because I wont tell anyone I know for awhile because of the risks. I want to wait and make sure everything goes well. My husband is the only one who knows.


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## Miss Bellum

Eva - Will keep fingers crossed for your job. 

Sounds like you have been keeping very busy! Hope your scan goes well tomorrow 

dimmu - Congrats on your little girl :) Great picture. 

Welcome Llawson Sounds like youve had a really tough time of it! Congrats on your bfp heres hoping for a healthy & happy 9 months. I found it really hard to keep quiet in the first few weeks too.


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## LLawson

Thanks Miss Bellum! Its been a long road. We also had 1 failed IVF attempt several years ago before doing the reversal so it is very hard to keep quiet about it.


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## eva1978

Welcome to the group LLawson! Those early pregnancy days are sooo stressful! It's great to have more people to talk about their experiences on this thread :) Congrats on your pregnancy! Fingers crossed that all will be fine! When is your due date? 

Thanks for fingers crossed for the job Miss B! I don't think I'll get the offer which would actually be OK... it just means more uncertainty about the future, since my contract with my current job is over in just over a year. It's so competitive to land a tenured job in this field. This position that I interviewed for only had 50 applicants, which is around half of what it is normally! 

Dimmu great u/s pics!!! How cute <3 
Thank you for the encouragement about my job :) I feel like I'm insane sometimes, haha. Sometimes I sort of wish I had a 9-5 (or 9-3!) job where I don't need to worry about things over the weekend and/or evenings, lol. But I guess "the grass is always greener...". Overall I like my work a lot, and it's fairly flexible... but a part of me would not mind trying something else. I may have to do that anyway since DH and I aren't keen on moving from contract to contract well into our 40s. It often means moving countries and/or continents. Kind of annoying with kids starting school, finding new daycares etc. It's been a good run though. Anyway, I think I'll know about the job interview outcome in a couple of weeks. My dad would be really happy if we were to move back up north. I would be too, but need to get used to snow and cold again! 

Does anyone have any baby names they are leaning toward? DH and I have a tentative shortlist but we're keeping it to ourselves... so far that's worked well for us. I'm assuming we'll just have a boy but I suppose we need girl names too, just in case! 

I'm off to my scan soon :) Enjoy your day (or night) ladies!


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## LLawson

Thanks Eva,my due date is 9-26-16 but thats still questionable she said until my next ultrasound. My last period was only spotting for two days so shes wondering if I may have already been pregnant. I measured a few days ahead but they set my due date by my period for now. She said they get more accurate measurements when Im a little further along.
Its crazy cause when I called they wanted to know when I ovulated and I had no idea. I remember having mild ovulation pains but couldnt remember when. I also remember some spotting after intercourse one night and wonder if that may have been implantation bleeding but again, I have no clue when it was? Thats how out of the loop I took myself. I was so happy to not be temping, charting, testing for ovulation and CM. Ive charted my period since I was 13 otherwise I probably would not have been sure on that date either. My RE that did the reversal was not Happy about that at all cause he had nothing to go by but all I could do was laugh. I went through all that work and torture for a couple yrs and nothing! I stop it all and wham!


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## MeganS0326

eva1978 - I've got my FX for you too about the job. A one in 50 shot sounds like good odds. I hope your scan went well! I don't have another scan booked yet but I'm assuming it won't be for another 10 weeks. With DS my OB wanted to wait past 20 weeks to do my anomaly scan because I'm a plus size girl and she said scans are harder to read on bigger people so it is best to wait to get the right measurements. So I figure 21 weeks at the soonest. That puts it at the beginning of May. Geesh, that sounds forever away.

dimmu - Your scan pic is fantastic. You have quite the little gymnast in there. She is rolled up tight. Congrats on team pink! I want a girl so bad!!!

Llawson - Welcome!!


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## Miss Bellum

Eva - I think you have a pretty cool job! It must be really difficult though having to move around so much, and I can understand why it would be good to have something a bit more permeant. 

Hope your scan goes well. 

We have a few names for boy & girl but not really thought about it too much. Sounds a bit silly but there are only a few boy names I like and I know several other people who are pregnant. I worry that they will choose the names and then Id look like I was copying them. Especially worries me as one of my friends is due 5 weeks before me. We had a chat about boys names once and we both wanted the same one! I had my lg just after she had her first daughter and she picked the name we had planned on using! Clearly we both have the same great taste in names but Id be so annoyed if it happened again. 

Lawson - Funny how that sort of thing goes! 

Megan - May seems like a long time away but Im sure the time will fly by


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## dimmu

Hello everyone and welcome along LLawson - huge congrats on your BFP, that's amazing! I hope everything will go smoothly for you. Have you got a date for your next scan already? It's so hard to keep it quiet at that stage, but not long to go now until you're 12 weeks! :) 

Eva - how was your scan? Hope everything went well. It must be hard moving from contract to contract with your job, a dull 9-5 certainly has its benefits as well. I think I already mentioned I'm gonna try and look into finding something new as well when on maternity leave, don't want to do my commute anymore (more than an hour each way) and also don't want to travel that much. Probably means a paycut but I just want to be there to see my kids grow up and not in the office or on a train all the time. 

Miss B good luck with your scan as well, I hope it goes well. 
We are a bit lost with names for the baby at the moment, don't really have any favourites! Had a couple of names picked for a boy but really struggling with girls' names. There is one name that I quite like and we were considering it for DD as well but our friends now have a one-year-old with that name. We want something quite classic but at the same time fairly short as she will have a long last name. 

Megan I'm sure that May will come sooner than you realise, you will probably start feeling the baby in a few weeks which is nice. 

I can feel the baby daily now which is amazing. My placenta is high anterior so I feel most of the popping quite low down. I've even felt the baby hiccuping a couple of times. Can't believe how early I could feel it this time, I'm sure with DD I didn't feel it until 28 weeks or so. I feel like I'm suddenly getting very big as well, the bump seems huge all of a sudden, and I'm staying away from the scales as I think I'm getting huge now. 

Gonna have to decide when to start my maternity leave over the next few weeks. Those of you who work, especially the ones in the UK with the option for a long maternity leave, do you know when you will start and how long you will be taking? I'd like to do a full year but depends on the finances, saving like crazy at the moment, not easy when there seems to be stuff to buy all the time!


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## eva1978

Hello! 

My scan yesterday went well, everything looks good and normal :) The technician didn't reveal the gender (I asked her not to - and she asked me to look away a couple of times just in case), but I still have a strong feeling it's another boy. I really wanted a girl with baby #2 but now that I have two boys, I'm cool with another :) It just means there will be no grand daughters for our parents (my brothers each have a son and my SIL is childless), but c'est la vie! :) 

LLawson that's great how things eventually just happened on their own. I did a brief stint of temping when we were trying for #2, eventually found it too stressful and just quit. Good luck on your ultrasound! 

Megan, yes 2+ months seems far but probably better to wait until 21 weeks anyhow to make sure you get accurate readings. It's almost March! Hopefully the time doesn't go by too slowly for you and you feel well over the next weeks! 

Miss B I know exactly what you mean about names... I'm lucky we didn't have that happen to us though it was one of my fears! That sucks... when you really are set on a particular name then someone close to you uses it :-/ I also have found a few names that I like but then realize they are "trending" names because some celebrity used it for their baby... sheesh! We had a couple of girl names we liked but we need to get more serious about boy names. I'm 20 weeks today so it feels like more of a count down to the birth! 

Dimmu I hope you have luck looking for a future job that's more work-life-balance friendly. A good thing about my current job is that my work is only 10 mins away. So I'll probably miss that! Anyhow, I think the paycut is probably worth the extra time you would be able to spend with your family. It's always possible to try and get something higher-paying later on once all the kids are more grown up and in school, if that's an attractive option. 
That's wonderful you're feeling the baby so much! :) I'm feeling a lot more movement as well, also mostly in the front-lower area. 

Thanks for the reminder about maternity leave, lol. I need to look into that as well. I think I'm entitled to 6 weeks before the due date and then 14 weeks after, paid, but can take a full year unpaid. I won't do that just because my contract is up before then anyway... so I think I'll go back to work 1 day a week after a few months (but will bring the baby to work with me - lucky I can do that), and then put him/her in daycare 2 days a week when he/she is 6 months old or so.


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## LLawson

Thanks!
I have no idea when my second scan is yet. I go for my next appt. on March 8 so Ill find out alot more.
I sure wish I was as far along as all you gals! Everything sounds so exciting with all of you! It wont be too long and youll all be holding your sweet babies!


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## Miss Bellum

Scan went well, little one seems to be perfectly healthy & measuring well. We had a trainee in our scan so the lady went through everything she was doing in a lot of detail which was great! It was fascinating to hear all of the things they are looking at. LO wasnt very co-operative though and kept flipping around! 

My placenta was a little low and at first, they thought it might be covering the exit a bit. They checked again and it wasn't, but they would like to have it checked so I have to go for another scan at 34 weeks just to make sure it isn't blocking anything. Looking forward to an unexpected bonus scan! 

They also confirmed we are having a little girl! We are both over the moon as we both secretly wanted another girl :) :cloud9:

dimmu - I feel baby quite a bit now. The sonographer asked if I could feel her moving today as she was so active but I couldnt feel her at al! Ditto with the bump, it seems to be stupidly huge! 

Havent yet decided about maternity leave. I dont think we can afford the full year this time round so I pan to start leave as late as possible to get as much time as I can with the new one. I will try to hold back annual leave so i can hopefully have a few weeks before the new arrival. 

Eva - Congrats on your scan great to hear it all went well. 

Im pleased to being have a girl as it should make picking a name a bit easier. Its so hard to try to find something you like thats not too popular and no-one you know has already picked! 

Lawson - The birth always seems so far away at the start, but it will come round before you know it. Not long till your next scan.
 



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## LLawson

Miss Bellum, Congrats on a baby girl! I Love the pic. That is so sweet!


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## dimmu

Congrats Miss B, wonderful news!! Lovely profile pic as well! :)

In a rush so will write more over the weekend.x


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## MeganS0326

MissB - Glad your scan went well. What a lovely pic!! Congrats on having a girl!! That's really cool that you had a trainee doing your scan and that you got all kinds of inside information! Also, that's nice about the bonus scan!!

Eva - So glad your scan went well too!

AFM, I got the results from my cell free DNA test yesterday and baby is all good!! I'm so happy and I think it is finally sinking in that I'm pregnant. :haha: DH and I talked about baby names all night last night. The nurse who called to give me my results asked if I wanted to know the gender. It was SOOOOOO hard to tell her no. I'm bound and determined to be team yellow though as this will be our last.


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## Miss Bellum

Megan - Glad your results were all fine :)

Have you narrowed down any choices for names yet? I always though choosing a name would be really exciting but I find so tough to decide on something!


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## MeganS0326

We are still working on it but so far our top choices are:

Boy: Lincoln or Noah
Girl: Jocelyn or Cora


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## Miss Bellum

Nice names


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## JJay

Hi Everyone, so much to catch up on! 

Congrats on the bfp LLawson!

Congratulations on all the great scans, lovely to see lots of good results and fab news on team pink Miss B! I had a low lying placenta last time and had the extra scan at 34 weeks - all was fine and it had moved up nicely.

Megan great news about your results! I was so relieved when I got mine that I had tears in my eyes! I know what you mean about the gender - they told us we could call up to find out anytime - so tempting. 

Eva so pleased to hear your scan went well too :)

Dimmu, lovely you can feel baby more. I'm finding movement is gradually getting stronger but still nowhere near as much as DD and DS. Most of what I feel is really really low so I think maybe baby is in a different position this time. 

My scan is on Monday so hopefully I will continue the good news! 

Happy weekend everyone X


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## JJay

Ps wow half way today! I'm on count down instead of count up now!


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## dimmu

Good morning everyone,

Miss B congrats again on the pink bump, so exciting! We also (secretly) wanted another girl, so pleased. Will be so nice for DD to have a sister, and as they have such a big age gap hopefully rivalry won't be that much of an issue. DD is already wanting to get a bunk bed so that the baby can sleep in her room, had to explain she will have to wait a bit longer for that! :)
Hopefully your placenta will move up but nice to get that extra scan anyway!!

I feel the baby now every few hours, but she's not massively active, or it could me my anterior placenta cushioning the movements. I usually just feel 5-10 kicks down below and then it goes quiet again for a few hours. 

Megan Excellent news about the results!! :) Lovely names as well, so jealous you have them picked already, we are still completely lost. Whatever I suggest DH isn't keen on and vice versa. 

JJay congrats on reaching the half way point, it feels pretty amazing doesn't it!! Now the next milestone is the V day, not long to wait for that!!! Good luck with your scan, let us know how it goes and post some pics too if you can!!

Eva that's amazing you can take your baby to work with you!!! I don't think my work would be too keen on that as I'm in an open plan office lol!
I'm currently thinking of starting my maternity leave 1st of July with the baby due on the 13th, DD was a few days early so wonder if this one will be the same. I still have four weeks of annual leave as well so would take them at the end, so in theory could start the leave early June. I'd like to spend some more time with DD before the baby is born, would be nice to be able to pick her up straight from school and go to the park and such. I'd also like to do some painting in the flat, or nesting they might say, so could do that when she's at school. I thought it's light enough to do even when heavily pregnant. I will get the standard UK maternity pay, so 6 weeks at 90% of your salary and then the statutory for another 33 weeks (think it's about £135-140/week so not much) and you can be off for up to a year. I'm saving as much as I can at the moment as would love to have 10-12 months off... 

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday! x


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## eva1978

Hi there! Wow some great news since I last checked in. Congrats miss B on the girl! Megan that is great news about your results! 

I like the name Cora - we have one in our family! 

I'm not checking this site much these days since I'm busy finishing up a monster job application (this one for a non-permanent job - but the application is a lot more work than the other job I had an interview for)! I'll try to catch up again later in the week. 

dimmu - so cute your LG wants a bunk bed already :) Will the age difference be about 5 years? 

Good luck at your scan JJay! (I think it's tomorrow)? 

Quick update about me - saw an OB friday and she wants me to come in again in 8-9 weeks (and every few weeks after) to check the growth of the baby since I have a history of small babies. Otherwise things seem good!


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## dimmu

Eva- yes the age difference will be 5+ years, well actually closer to six as DD has her birthday in September. Never planned for such a long age gap but guess it's just one of those things, hopefully they will still get on just fine.
Good luck with this new job application, whereabouts is this job based?

I have a midwife appointment tomorrow but it's mainly just to get the paperwork that I need for triggering the maternity leave. Then I won't have any appointments until I'm 28 weeks, seems like a long time!!

Today I finally felt the baby a bit higher up for the first time, just below the belly button level on the right. I managed to see my belly move as well but she only does a few kicks and then stops so DD and DH haven't been able to see it yet.


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## Miss Bellum

JJay - Hope your scan goes well tomorrow x 

dimmu - Thanks seems we were both lucky! Your LG sounds so sweet, how lovely that she is so excited. 

We still have no idea about names yet either! 

Your maternity plan sounds good. Im hoping to have a bit of a break before lo arrives but still spend as much time with new one a possible. Will have to start thinking about it soon. 

Eva - Glad everything well with you. Good luck with your job application x


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## Mrs W 11

Hi all,

Sorry it's been so long since I checked in! So many of you are already half way, time is flying by!! 

Dimmu - congrats on having a baby girl! Great news!! I'll have a 4 year gap between my dd and this baby which is twice what we planned but so many people have told me about how close their children were with a similar gap. Plus it will be nice in a way to have time to do classes etc with our babies when our dds are at school. 

Miss Bellum - congrats to you too on being team pink!! Names are always tricky, we had the same girls name all the way through for my dd and then changed it at the last minute!! I find boys names harder although we currently have one of each picked out! 

Lawson - welcome and congrats! I see so many stories of ladies giving up ttc and bam bfp! The early weeks are tough but you are nearly there!! 

Jjay - how did your scan go today? 

Eva - good luck with the job! Well done on staying team yellow!! We did with dd but not going to this time! 

Megan - congrats on getting to 12 weeks and fab news on babies results all being normal!! 

We've had a tough few weeks. My nt results came back as 1 in 110 chance of Down's which is partly my age and partly that I had a very low Papp-a in my blood. Aside from being linked to chromosomal abnormalities it's also linked to iugr, pre eclampsia and other poor outcomes so I'll need regular growth scans every 3 weeks from 28 weeks. It's odd as my dd was a big baby and was 16 days late but they say every oregnancy is different. Re the Down's risk we had a harmony test and it came back as failed, apparently I had a vanishing twin and extra DNA in my blood so they wouldn't do the test. We've decided to wait for the 20 week scan and see if any markers or abnormalities are highlighted there but hoping all will be ok with our much longed for rainbow xx


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## JJay

Hi Everyone 

Nice to hear from you Mrs W and sorry you've been going through such a stressful time. My odds before any testing were 110:1 due to my age. It's still over 99% chance that all is fine - although I know you must still be feeling worried. Do you have a date for your 20 week scan yet?

My scan today was great, baby was bouncing around like crazy and all checks fine. Measuring average for dates which is a first for me as both DD and DS measured big. Placenta is low lying but not covering but needs to be checked again so they will do this at my 28 week scan which is booked for 21st April. 

I looked away when they checked the baby's bladder but DH had a sneaky peak and thinks he maybe saw boy bits! I am not so sure as the sonograper gave us a full run through of all the body parts at the end of the scan and pointed out the baby's bottom. She knew we were team yellow so I'm not sure she would have done that if there was an obvious give away - still we will know in 19 weeks or so for definite- in the meantime I'm enjoying comparing scan pics to DD and DS to try and guess!
 



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## Mrs W 11

Awww lovely scan pics jjay, so glad all went well!! Another team yellow, were you team yellow with your other 2? The surprise was nice when we were team yellow and dh told me 'it's a girl!!' Magical xx

My background risk was 1 in 450 as I'm 35 so the low Papp-a really bumped the odds right up, as you say I'm just thinking it's still less than 1% chance of Down's. Scan is 31st March so not too long to wait now, 4 weeks and 2 days!! X


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## JJay

Thanks Mrs W 

Not too long to wait - I hope the time passes quickly for you, the odds are in your favour and chances are, all is fine. It will be much better when harmony is available on NHS for high risk cases so there is not so much waiting and a more definite result. 

We were team yellow with DD and DS too - I love the guessing and wondering and it makes me so so excited to find out on the day. I think it helps me get through the last few uncomfortable weeks and the birth. That said I'm struggling this time as i feel really impatient to know. As this will be our last I feel a little sad that either DS or DD will miss out on a same sex brother or sister. I've got 4 brothers and 2 sisters and can't imagine not having both! Of course I'll be delighted whatever we have and know we are very blessed but I think there will be a small part of me that feels sad never to have another boy or never to have another girl.


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## dimmu

Jjay - so pleased to hear the scan went well, that's such a lovely picture! :) I admire you for being able to stay team yellow, I just wouldn't have the willpower! It must be a lovely feeling to find out on the day he/she is born. How are you feeling these days in general, getting uncomfortable at all?

I feel like my bump is growing exponentially now, I feel quite achey down below most of the time, guess it's the stretching. I can only walk slowly or my bump starts hurting, and I get out of breath easily. I plan to do a bit more walking when the weather gets warmer, I've been pretty lazy of late and only done the essential. Think should exercise a bit more..

Mrs W sorry you have been having such a hard time. But just as JJay said the odds are still on your side, it's not like it's 1:3 chance of Down's or anything. But I would be the same as you and feel nervous. Not long until your 20 week scan now, it's March already and the time will go quickly! At least I felt like the time between the 12 and 20 weeks scans went pretty fast. 
It will definitely be nice to be able to attend all the baby classes during the day when DD goes back to school, I'm looking forward to that. I would have preferred to get pregnant a couple of years ago but DH wasn't ready. In fact he's still not 100% ready, he is quite concerned about our finances but also just about coping in general, we have no family here to help so will be hard with two kids. Thankfully DD is very independent now and doesn't need help with getting dressed or anything, so hopefully it won't be too bad with her and the baby.


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## eva1978

Hello all, 

that is cool you could see the baby move, dimmu! I've seen that a couple of times but DH has only seen it once. I wish it happened more :) A 6 year gap seems nice! Perhaps in about 6 years your oldest can babysit your younger one? :) There will be a 5.5 yr gap between our oldest and the baby, similar to you. It will be increasingly difficult to travel too see family though with 3 kids. We're planning a trip to Europe when the baby will be about 2 months, but it's so far in the future and there's much uncertainty, we'll have to see if the trip really happens. 

Thanks for the luck Miss B! It's basically done now. 
The job application is for Australia. You specify which institution you want to be at, so I've applied to stay where I am now (near the capital). However I won't know the outcome for another 8 months :-/ 

Mrs. W, 1/110 sounds scary but like JJay said and experienced, chances are good that things will all be fine :) I ended up having IUGR with my first but it wasn't an issue until after my 30th week. So if that ends up being a problem they should be able to catch it with frequent third tri scans. 

Good news about your scan JJay! Hopefully the placenta doesn't decide to come down lower! At least nowadays they can check for that possibility. One of my friends had placenta previa, though I guess it's quite rare (1/200?) 

I had a bit of a scare with my doppler yesterday. I tried to find the heartbeat in the morning before going wee... well it usually takes me under a minute to find the HB but I was trying for 5 mins with no luck, and starting to panic slightly. I decided to wee and then tried again and bam - there it was! So maybe my huge bladder was pushing the baby out of the way? lol


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## dimmu

Eva - I've not seen the baby move from outside since, think she has turned around and keeps kicking inwards now, at least my bladder and cervix have been having it the last few days!! :)
I don't have a doppler but the midwifes have had trouble finding the heartbeat whenever I have had an appoinment. At 16 weeks the midwife couldn't find it all and ended up sending me to the hospital to be checked which of course was very scary! On Monday when I was almost 21 weeks the midiwfe again took ages to find it, in the end she could only hear the baby when she put the sensor in a funny angle really low down near my right hip, the baby is curled up down there behind the placenta. So guess it's very much possible your bladder was just pushing the baby to the side or something!!


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## Miss Bellum

Mrs W11 - It is worrying when they give you the downs risk. With my first, I was told it was 1 in 41 which got me so freaked out. This time round, I decided Id rather not know so didnt have the nt testing. My lg turned out absolutely fine and I do hope its the same for you. Not long till your 20 week scan which will hopefully put your mind at ease 

JJay - Great news on your scan, what a lovely picture! Im rubbish at guessing genders from scan pics. Do you get three scans in your area? Here we usually only get them at 12 and 20 weeks although I am getting an extra one at 30 weeks, to check my placenta isnt covering as well. 

Im too impatient to be team yellow so I admire your will power! Although last time at 20 weeks, we were told we were having a boy and out popped a girl, so I suppose I shouldt get too set on a girl this time! 

dimmu - Definitely with you on the bump growing! It must be tough having children and no nearby family but at least if your lg is pretty independent, it makes it a bit easier for you. I think as far as finances go theres never a good time for a new baby really. 

Eva - Wow thats a really long wait for a response! Must have been worrying to not find the hb. Thats the main reason I dont have a doppler, it would freak me out! Glad it turned out ok though.


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## JJay

Miss B we usually get 2 scans here too but I was already booked for extra to determine best delivery method as I have a lot of adhesions from my previous sections. Now I have the low lying placenta too they will check that and if not moved I will definitely have to have a section - so at least the decision is made. I've been reading up on it and it seems it's less likely to move up if it's posterior- last time mine was anterior and had moved well out of the way by my next scan. Did they say where your placenta is? Did they give you any restrictions? They told me no sex (not too difficult that one at 20 weeks pregnant with a 3 and 4 year old!) and also to be careful not to strain going to the loo. They didn't mention lifting but I have been wondering about lifting DD and DS into their car seats - did they mention anything to you? 

Dimmu, I am finding it really hard to stay team yellow this time but it is a lovely and exciting feeling on the day so I am trying to stick to it. My bump is growing by the day too - I will have to take another bumpie soon. I have days where I feel fine and days where I get quite a bit of ligament and back pain. It can be tender if I cough or move suddenly. I am also out of breath easily and get dizzy if I stand up too fast. I think my blood pressure might be a little low as this happened last two times. Overall I have more energy than first trimester but the odd day of exhaustion- I guess when baby is having a growth spurt. I've gained around a stone so far and feel very big. I'm finding second trimester is zooming by compared to first tri. I can't believe in a few weeks I'll be in third!!! 

Eva, I have this with the Doppler too! It seems if I need a wee I can't find the heartbeat so I think a big bladder must get in the way somehow. I find I'm using it less and less these days though as I'm getting quite a bit more movement now. DD will be 5 at the end of May so I'm hoping she will be my little helper. I think it will make it easier going to softplay etc when the baby is that awkward 1-2 age and needs you to crawl around after them. I figure she will be 6-7 by then and able to do it for me!


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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - I wasnt given any restrictions but then Ive just been asked to come for a scan just in case. At first she thought the placenta was covering the exit slightly then she thought it was OK, but would still prefer me to be scanned to check thats still the case. 

it must be difficult to deal with toddlers if youve been told not to lift things! 

It will be nice if your elder daughter is able to help with the running round!


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## dimmu

Miss B - you're so right there never being a good time to have a baby financially. DD was unplanned and I'm so glad things happened that way, otherwise who knows how long we would have waited before trying to get pregnant. So in a way the big age gap is definitely a blessing as well, she's pretty independent and probably more than willing to help with the baby as well. I have had a few funny reactions when I've told people I'm pregnant, usually something like you waited a while didn't you, or thought you were only gonna have one as you've left it so long, and even one midwife I met asked me if I've been trying to get pregnant ever since having DD. Guess a 5-6 year gap isn't the standard!!

JJay - I took another bump picture but it's awful, might try again later, can't believe how much bigger I've grown in just a few weeks. I think I'll be enormous by the time I finish work! I've still not weighed myself, I'm too scared!! I also have some days I'm ok, and others when I'm in agony. The ligament pain can be bad some days, and I have a desk job and towards the end of the day I usually start getting really uncomfortable. Yesterday I got really hungry and ended up eating too much too quickly at lunch time and I got so bloated that the rest of the day was pure agony, should really know better by now. :( I plan to start doing some more walking, just waiting for the weather to get better, it's still too cold for me at the moment. I walked loads towards the end of my last pregnancy and I think it made a difference with the labour, at least the second stage was very quick. 
The time does seem to be going quicker now, can't believe xmas was over two months ago and just three more months and I'll be finishing work, can't wait!!:happydance:


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## LLawson

Hi, I have a question. Those that have had the Harmony Testing. Is it very expensive? Will insurance cover anything at all?
Thanks in advance. :)


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## Miss Bellum

dimmu - its amazing how fast the time goes! 

Lawson - Im in the UK so dont know much about the Harmony test in the states. Over here its about £500 though.


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## eva1978

Dimmu, I know how you feel re: eating too much! Feels like tummy will explode! I don't get too much RLP but have had a couple of heartburn episodes in the last week or so :-/ Hope the kicks in there aren't too painful? Do you feel any pain on your cervix? Funny that some people think a 6 yr gap is a bit strange. This way you will have a little helper which I think is great! My cousin had two kids within less than 2 years... it seems very intense! I personally really needed some "me getting back to normal" time before feeling ready to start trying for the next baby. I agree there is never the perfect time to have a kid! 

Thanks for the info about difficulty with finding the heartbeat. I guess those little ones can be sneaky! 

Very hard indeed to avoid lifting with toddlers around! :) Sorry for your ligament and back pain, JJay :-/ Do you find your back is worse in the mornings, or after a long day of being on your feet/sitting/standing? Hope your blood pressure doesn't drop too low! Better low than high though probably. I also use my doppler less since I'm feeling movement every day now. Sometimes nothing for several hours, seems more regular in the evenings. 

Miss B it must have been a huge shock to be told you were having a boy and then it was a girl! Was the gender scan guess based on one scan only? I think I see a bit of boy-like bits on one of my scan pics that I have on disc, though the technician knew I didn't want to know so I think she was quite careful to try and include no "evidence". DH thinks it may be another body part/the cord... dunno though, I feel 95% confident it's a boy, but we're staying team yellow :) 

Now that work has calmed down a bit I've been trying to be slightly more active. Not succeeding too well but trying to walk more frequently. It's actually been super hot here (over 30) and I don't like being outside! I probably shouldn't complain though! Although I guess winter will creep in soon enough. 

I think they do the Harmony test now in Australia but I have no experience with it.


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## JJay

LLawson, I did the serenity test in the UK which is similar. It cost around £350. I've seen threads from US ladies who had the harmony done on insurance as they were over 35. I believe if it's not covered you can get it at a discounted price. 


It's expensive but has given me great peace of mind.


How is everyone doing? I am much the same, I have decided to go to a pregnancy back clinic tomorrow afternoon. I'm not having too much trouble at the moment but want to try and do what I can to prevent problems later on - I know they will tell me no breaststroke (which I've been enjoying) or sitting cross legged on the settee - which is my position of choice!


I haven't done another bump piccie yet as I'm feeling fat and bleughhh! If I have an OK today I will do one. 


I feel like I'm a bit gender obsessed and keep comparing my scan pics to online images! Don't know why I'm having such a hard time staying team yellow this time! I've sent my early scan pics off to the Ramzi Theory website to get their opinion - I know it's just a fun prediction but I am curious as to what they come back with...


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## dimmu

Hello everyone, how are you all getting along?

I'm ok, getting bigger and more uncomfortable by the day but otherwise all good. It seems like I have a new complaint every day, one day my hips are aching, then my belly, then I get constipated for a few days, and I had my first ever migraine on Sunday which lasted until Monday afternoon. Spending all day sitting at my desk is getting harder and harder as well, I'm sure with my last pregnancy I was 30+ weeks before I started getting all these little things. 

I still haven't got around to doing more exercise, really have to get on with it as it would probably help. Fingers crossed we'll have some warmer spring weather soon.

Is any of you having any more scans, especially if in the UK any private ones? JJay I remember you will be getting more scans anyway, lucky you. I started another thread on this as well in the 2nd trimester forum. A friend of ours had her DD at the UCLH where they offer and extra scan at 34 weeks to everyone, and they found this really serious condition called Vasa Previa and she had to have a cesarean delivery. If it hadn't been for that scan and she had gone to labour naturally her daughter wouldn't be here today, so I'm a bit freaked out. Gutted as well as UCLH was one of the hospitals I was considering but opted for a local one in the end. 

LLawson I didn't have the Harmony test done so can't provide any advice on this, think it costs around £400 here if done privately.


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## MeganS0326

Hi ladies! Sorry I've been MIA, I've been quietly stalking along but I'm in a really boring stage right now so not much to post about. :haha: Glad everyone is doing well! I'm headed into 2nd tri and starting to feel a bit better. I actually got some house cleaning done today, yay! 

Lawson - I had the cell free DNA testing done (Harmony) and my insurance covered it due to my advanced maternal age. Check with your dr and see if they can tell you if it will be covered or call your insurance provider.


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## Miss Bellum

eva - It was just the one scan. It was quite a nice surprise as we were both quite keen on a girl anyway! 

I never want to do much when its really hot either. Ive started trying to go swimming a few times a week as I can go for free now. 

It is reassuring when you start feeling lo on a daily basis. 

JJay - It is frustrating when you cant do the things that are usually most comfortable. 

Have you had any guesses back yet? 

dimmu - I am due to have another scan at 34 weeks mainly so they can check my placenta has moved. How scary fir your friend, glad it worked out ok. 

I seem to be getting very bumpy now! Trying to avoid looking in the mirror too much as I am another one who is feeling huge. 

Generally feeling ok at the moment though I do get pain in my bum a fair bit. 

Megan - glad you are starting to feel better, great that you are finally in second trimester.


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## LLawson

Megan, I actually got the test yesterday. They were able to draw the blood in my doctors office so it will be covered under my 15.00 copay which was a big relief! SHe did say even if I had went to a lab it should be covered because of my age as well.


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## Miss Bellum

Great news on the results Llawson.


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## eva1978

Great the test seems to be mostly covered LLawson! Our so-called "advanced maternal age" does seem to have some benefits :) 

How was the back clinic JJay? Any word from the Ramzi website? 

You seem to be having a bit of a rough go dimmu :-/ I hope the migraines aren't a new thing! They can certainly be a big pain. What was yours like? The vasa previa story sounds very scary! It seems as though later scans are called for by the doctor when you have a history of something going wrong/odd, at least that's how it seems here. But things can always happen... so would be nice if later scans were a more routine thing. My next scan is end of April (@ 29 weeks). 

Glad you are feeling better Megan! 

Miss B that's cool about the free swimming! 

I managed to do some real exercise today for the first time in a looong while. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting! Just tried to take it easy when my body was telling me "hey - that's enough now!"


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## LLawson

Eva, Im 45. The age does have its advantages but lots of worries too. LOL, I did find out because of my age I would be getting lots of ultrasounds, so thats a plus! I go for my next one on the 31st. She said they could do them as often as every 2 weeks, just depending on what they felt needed to be done. She said its just something they do with the older chics cause they have to put them in the high risk category just because of age.
She also said because of my age I need at least 80 grams of Protein a day. Im finding it so hard to hit that goal. I thought I for sure had it yesterday and it was only 65. Is anyone else having to do this? Its hard finding things with low carbs and high Protein. She did suggest Chiobani Greek yogurt which I bought yesterday and will try today. (Ive never been a yogurt fan at all). It has something like 17 grams in one package.
I had the Ramzi website look at my ultrasound pics and they say its a girl. Ill find out if they are right as soon as I get my results back from the Harmony test and Ill let everyone know! :) All the guessing has been fun! I would LOVE a girl but for some reason every dream Ive had is always a boy!


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## eva1978

Dreams can be deceiving though, too! :) I used to dream about having a baby girl with one (or both?) of my kids... and they were both boys! It's exciting to find out though! DH and I are determined to keep it a surprise. I did not want a surprise at all the last 2 times, but this time I'm all for it. 

The yogurt - I like Chiobani. But I recommend NOT getting the 0% fat! They sometimes have 2% fat... I would get that at a minimum! Yogurt without fat just isn't real yogurt IMO ;-) 

So do you need to watch your carb intake? I'm not keeping track of my protein (I'm 37) but I don't think I have a problem reaching it. I do eat a lot of Greek yogurt and we tend to have meat a few times a week, sometimes tofu. Are you taking pre-natals?


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## LLawson

Eva, I cant wait to find out! I couldnt find out with my first cause she was hiding her lady bits! LOL I did try but she just didnt cooperate. That seemed like the longest pregnancy! She was overdue as well so it seemed like forever!
I tried the yogurt tonight and did not like it at all. I tried two different flavors and could only get a few bites down...any suggestions on some other high protein stuff?
She didnt tell me to watch carbs she just said to just try and read labels and get stuff high in protein but without the outrageous carbs. She even said I could drink protein shakes if I needed too. She said the older women really need the protein to keep going. She said she sees alot more older women blacking out and passing out and keeping protein in you helps with all that.


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## eva1978

Too bad about the Chiobani! It is not the best though ;-) Can you find Danone ultimate Greek? Here it comes in many flavours. Farmer's Union or LYTTOS Greek Style natural yogurt is also good (the full fat one). You can put honey or (real) maple syrup in it to make it sweeter! :) No idea though if the same brands there would even have the same ingredients as here... I think usually they don't :-/ There's also Dairy Dream (I get that from Aldi). 
I really used to like Liberte (I think 8% fat? LOL) but can't easily find it here. 

If you are not a fan of yogurt that has 'chunks' of stuff in it (like fruit etc.) then stick to the honey or plain flavours. 

Ok enough about yogurt :) Do you think you'll find out the sex on the 31st? How many weeks will you be then? 

I have my glucose tolerance test on April 1. Slightly dreading it! :)

How is everyone else doing?


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## LLawson

Eva, I will look for some of the others. Ive never like dairy very much so that doesnt help.
I should find out the gender in a few days. I had a Harmony test last week and Im waiting for the results. I cant wait cause I had the Ramzi theory done and it said girl. Im curious is its right.


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## Mrs W 11

Hi everyone! 

Lawson - that's great that you got your harmony test done, fingers crossed for a good result in a few days! With my dd I dreamt and felt she was a boy all the way through but my mothers instinct was way off, she was girl! 

Megan - glad you are feeling better, second tri is so much nicer than first tri which is so hard isn't it. 

Miss B - enjoy your swimming, I really need to start doing some exercise, I've done nothing so far and feeling really gross at the moment. 

Dimmu - sorry it sounds like you are having a rough time at the moment. I hope it eases soon.

Glad I'm not the only one who's feeling huge! I'm 18 weeks tomorrow and it's definitely obvious that I'm pregnant with a bump. Really looking forward to my 20w scan now, just over 2 weeks to go!!


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## Miss Bellum

Evening ladies, 

Hope everyone is well. 

Not a lot of news here. All seems to be going well, bump is getting stupidly big now! Boobs also growing at a rate of knots, I need to go and get fitted for yet more new bras! This is getting quite expensive! 

Got my mat 1 form so will be putting in for my maternity leave soon. Thinking will probably go off in June. Cant believe how quickly its come round.

eva - Gad your exercise went well. I do love the swimming, gives me some me time and is very relaxing. Hope your gt test is ok. 

LLawson - How lovely to be able to get extra scans. Will be exciting to see which is right , the website or the dreams! When are you going to find out the gender? 

Are things like cheese any good for low carb high protein?

Mrs W11 - Not long till your scan how exciting! Does your area offer anything like free swimming ?


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## LLawson

Mrs. W Im curious if thats whats going on with me. My husband is like, you havent once dreamed of a baby girl? (He really wants a girl). I cant wait for the results, the suspense is killing me!
Miss Bellum, I will find out the gender any day now when I get the Harmony test back. They can also check the gender with that test.
Cheese is high protein. She said especially Mozzarella. So I have been eating cheese sticks. Its a little higher in cholesterol I believe though.
Hope everyone is having a great day! Its 76 here today but going to be turning back cold for a few days. :( Im so ready for the warmth to get here and stay!


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## Mrs W 11

Miss b - I'm not sure about the swimming, maybe I'll have a Google. How did you find out about it? I've not heard of it before. I've found a bump and splash class at the leisure centre so I'm going to try that and there's a preg yoga class too but it's at 8pm yawn!!! 

Lawson - I can't wait to find out our gender either! Can't wait to hear your harmony results. I think you're right and it's a boy!


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## Miss Bellum

LLawson - Not long to go then, how exciting! 

Mrs W11 - My midwife told me about them, its offered by our local council. Maybe worth trying your local council website for information?


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## dimmu

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been around much lately, hope you are all doing well. 

Things have been better for me this week, no more migraines and feeling less achey in general, long may it last!! 

Miss B that's great about swimming, I will have to take a look at my council's website. I also have my Mat B1 form now, will hand it in next week or right after easter. I think I will start my maternity leave officially on July 1st, but I still have 21 days of unused annual leave so would take those at the end. This way I'd be off pretty much the whole June as well but still get full pay. :) Really can't wait to have some time off before the baby arrives. Will be nice to be able to pick DD up straight from school and spend some time with her, and still have plenty of time for myself whilst she's at school.
My bump is getting huge now too, I can only wear one old winter coat now, nothing else fits!! I keep buying cheap bras from primark every few weeks as I grow out from the old ones. They have quite a few that are not wired. I am also growing out of my underwear so think DH is right when he says my arse is getting bigger, not just the bump and boobs. :haha: Well hopefully it will all come off again pretty quickly as it did with DD.

Eva - well done for managing to do some exercise, I still haven't. I keep coming up with excuses which is not good. My new plan is to get off the train one stop earlier on my way home and walk the distance, guess that's better than nothing. I have my glucose test on April 11th which I'm not looking forward to. 
I also found out I have to go on one more work trip when I'm 28 weeks pregnant, boo. :growlmad: Luckily it's only a short flight to Europe and one night stay, hopefully there won't be any more travel after that. 

LLawson - how exciting, please update us when you find out what you're having. Do you like eggs, they are high in protein aren't they? And some nuts are a good source too. 

Mrs W - So exciting about your scan, not long to go now! I'm not sure if I could manage a yoga class at 8 pm, I need to be in bed soon after 9 pm lol! But I'm sure it would be good for you if you can manage it!

Megan - pleased to hear that you are starting to feel better now! My second trimester has been a lot easier than the first one, really not missing any of that constant nausea and vomiting.

ETA 
Here's a bump pic from this morning. Anyone else care to share a recent pic? :) 

https://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u564/hmh3101/e0bc90ec-fc3d-48dc-a756-eb35d0dbea37_zpsdbz894in.jpg


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## eva1978

Cute bump pic dimmu! :) 
I dropped my mobile in the toilet today :wacko: and though it doesn't seem broken it's acting strange... so it's semi-taken apart now sitting on some rice. Sigh... long story short: no camera to take a bump pic at the mo! 

That's great that you have some unused annual leave to tack on to the maternity leave - comes in handy! I think avoiding work-related stress becomes important as you get close to the due date. I hope the 28 week work trip goes OK!! Will you see a doc or midwife the week before? I travelled within Europe by plane when I was 30 weeks before, and everything was fine - except that I had major preggo brain and forgot to pack some important things! 

Mrs W - not long now until the mid-way point! :) Curious to know about how the yoga class goes if you give it a go. 8 pm is a bit late though! 

LLawson, I'm looking fw to your harmony results too! Do they also give you a probability of the result being correct? 

Miss B I also feel like I'm getting large. I'm not sure if I felt this large at this point with my last two pregnancies (23 weeks). Also been feeling quite bloated the last couple of days... ugh! 

About that job interview I had in Canada - I think they offered the job to someone else. Oh well... it means still no job security for next year or so but I'm not really worried, since with the baby coming I wasn't planning on working a tonne anyway. 

Good luck to those of you filling out your mat leave forms! I need to get on that, too. Still not completely sure what to put down!


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - Glad you are feeling better. Your ML plans sound great. Im thinking of taking my holiday before starting ML which should see me finishing about mid/end June. Looking forward to having some time to myself! I wish I could go for cheap bras from Primark, it gets expensive having to buy new ones. I have to get mine fitted though as I find whenever I try to pick up bras from Primark or supermarkets, I can never find a good fit. 

Hope the trip goes OK - what a time to have it! 

Love the bump pic. 

Eva - Whoops! if it makes you feel better, Ive done that once too. Sorry about the job but hope you can get a more suitable job when youre ready. 

Do you have particularly complicated forms in Australia? Over here, the forms are pre-printed with the mid-wife details and they sign to confirm your due date. All you need to fill in is your name, address and NI number.


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## dimmu

Eva that's a bummer about your phone!!
I'm really not looking forward to my work trip, even though short it will be very full on with back to back meetings. :( I have lots of appointments the week leading to the trip as I have my glucose test a week before, and I have to see an OB after that. Then I also have a scheduled midwife appointment (wonder if she will now start measuring the bump!) and even a GP appointment the day before I fly as I need a "fit to fly" letter. 
I had to travel during the first trimester when I was pregnant and it was horrendous as I was really nauseous yet couldn't tell anyone I was pregnant. At least now there's no hiding it so hopefully the client won't mind or think it unprofessional if I keep having snacks and toilet breaks mid-meeting!! :)

Sorry to hear you didn't get the job in Canada, but at least you can just focus on your pregnancy now and think of your options after the baby is born. 

Miss B I just keep buying bras from primark and if they don't fit I bring them back or exchange them. I think I will need to get some proper fitted maternity bras soon though. Where are you getting yours from? I got mine from M&S last time but they were rather frumpy. 

My bump is getting very big too, the bump in the pic is my morning bump, it gets a lot bigger as the day goes by as I get really bloated.


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## eva1978

Hi Ladies! 

My phone is ok, but no bump pic yet. Will try to post one soon! 

Thanks re: the support for the non-job offer, lol. I heard officially now that I was ranked #2. Good to know but also a tad frustrating. You're both right though... kind of nice not to "worry" about moving overseas next year etc. and I can focus (and relax) more about the coming new baby. 

Dimmu sounds like a bit of a stressful time coming up with the travel :( Indeed it's tougher seeing as you'll be working. When I travelled @ 30 weeks I was on vacation, so totally different. Don't be shy about eating snacks! :) 

Miss B re: ML forms here, I don't think they're too complicated. I have yet to look at one actually, haha :-o but DH looked them up (also for paternity leave, which isn't much) and he said it seemed like it would be straightforward. 
Do your partners get to (and/or will they) take parental leave too? 

Any news on baby genders? :) Hope everyone is doing well! 
It's been a rough week here with the kids being sick (taking turns, or both at the same time). Fall is really upon us down under! It's quite nice though this time of year... sunny and crisp. Enjoy the spring flowers up North!


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## Miss Bellum

And today I discover why you should always check documents! Had an email from HR to check my due date as the certificate signed by the midwife informed them I was due in February! Cant believe I missed that. So have to take it back and get a new one. Finally decided that Id like my last day in the office to be the 15th June, will use a combination of leave/ml to have some time off. Hopefully work should agree to it. 

Dimmu - Sounds like a very busy time! 

I got mine in M&S. They are OK not too frumpy. But as I need stupidly large sizes, there isnt a lot of choice anywhere really. Debenhams do quite a good range too. 

Eva - Our maternity certificates are really just to confirm we are pregnant so nothing to fill in really. Partners can take leave and they do have to fill in some complicated forms! I believe they can take up to a year but its unpaid and comes out of the mothers maternity leave. Dads do get the right to the first 2 weeks off but not guaranteed to be paid. My OH would love to be able to share the leave but as he is the bigger earner, sadly it doesnt make financial sense for us. 

Sorry youve had a rough time, hope everyone is feeling better soon.


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## dimmu

Hello,
Hope everyone is doing great.
It's my V-day today - yay!! :happydance:
DD was able to feel baby kick this morning which was nice, usually she stops as soon as DH or DD puts their hand on my tummy. Although DD also thinks she can hear the baby slurping when she puts her head on my tummy. :) 

Miss B - how annoying about your form!! I just checked mine, fortunately she's put in the right dates. At least it gives you an excuse to have an extra appointment! I feel like the appointments are too far apart, next one at 28 weeks and then nothing until 34 weeks. I always assumed they'd monitor you more when you're older but not in here.
How exciting, three months from now you'll be on maternity leave!! I told HR verbally I'll be starting on July 1st but taking four weeks annual leave prior to that and they're fine with that. :) Will bring in the forms tomorrow or after Easter. 

I think I have to give in and go and get measured at M&S for maternity bras, growing out of my cheap primark ones too quickly. I found some old bras from six years ago when I was pregnant with DD but even they're a bit snug. :( One of my apps told me this morning that the baby will double in weight in the next four weeks, and that my weight gain will also accelerate now. I hope it doesn't mean new bras every two weeks!!!

Eva- sorry to hear you have had a rough time. I'm sure the weather there is better than it is in here, expecting it to get rainy and windy in time for the Easter bank holiday. :( 
That's amazing you were the 2nd choice when there were so many applicants, I'm sure the right new job will come once you're ready for it. Do you work in academia? 
I'm so dreading my work trip now, I'm sure I'll be huge in four weeks. Wondering if you can take something like rescue remedy to help you through a stressful day like that, not sure if it's just for situation when you're feeling nervous though, my day will just be heavy-going with all the travel and meetings. My boss was trying to suggest I should do a couple of client visits on that same trip "just catch another flight or train to germany", easy for him to say! I refused, I'll be on my third trimester then so think just the one visit is enough!

My husband will get to take a couple of weeks off when the baby is born, but not sure if he takes it as holiday or what. He won't get much money if he takes official paternity leave whereas a holiday is paid for.

We still don't have a name for this poor baby, there are a couple of maybes but nothing that really stands out yet. Also haven't bought anything yet, how about you guys?

How are the fetal movements for you now? I can feel the baby daily several times but still don't think there's any pattern to it.


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## eva1978

Hi! 

Managed to take a bump pic today! (attached). 24 weeks today! 

Whoops due on Feb - good catch Miss B! A bit of a pain to go back and correct it but better now than later. I looked up the paid leave forms in more detail and I think I have to provide several things... income details, tax file number, passport info etc. Nothing majorly annoying though. That's nice you don't have to fill out too many things, though too bad the partners do! I guess the gov't makes them work for it. I think DH's form here is easy, and he gets max 2 weeks of paid leave at the same rate as me (min. wage). Things are a bit backward here (compared to Europe I think) in that he can't really 'share' the leave to get any more, since there can only be one primary caregiver that's entitled. He's allowed to take unpaid leave too but will likely use up a good chunk of holiday pay instead. I think I'll be doing the same once my first few months of paid leave are up (and keep going part-time). 

Dimmu that's exciting you told HR your leave start date! Congrats on your V-day! what do you consider V-day... 24 weeks? I find it confusing since some say 23, some 24, some even say 20 (!) That's cute DD could feel the baby! I haven't had the right timing/luck yet to have DS feel any movement. The app you have sounds scary... 'your weight will accelerate now' ?? :-0 hope not! I haven't been watching my sweets-intake as much as I should be! I have the 'glow' app but I don't go on there too much. I also find a lot of the comments/discussions really full of drama. 

Yes I'm an academic (research). I'll find out in 6 months if I get funding to stay where I am, but that won't be permanent (3 more years). 
Not sure if there's something you can take, while pregnant, to relax you while on the trip... my old doctor would recommend taking extra magnesium when flying. It's supposed to help relax the uterus and is supposedly calming in general. She said to stop taking it though once you reach term. Good on you for refusing the extra trip to see clients! I'm a bit shocked he even asked you! 

We also don't have names picked... every month I like one or two and then next month it changes :wacko: I've mostly been focusing on boy's names but we should probably re-visit the girl name ideas! 

I also feel movement several times a day, more in the evening, but no specific pattern either. Usually the right side of my tummy sticks out more than the left, which I can notice when lying down... so must be the baby's head or butt sticking out there?!
 



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## dimmu

That's a lovely bump picture Eva, you're coming along nicely!! 

V-day as far as I know is 24 weeks. Not quite sure what the next milestone would be, start of the third trimester I guess? The time seems to be dragging at the moment, I wish I was further along already, although not looking forward to all the discomfort towards the end. I'm already feeling quite uncomfortable!!!
Haha I really hope my weight gain is not gonna increase exponentially now but I think that's what happened to me last time.. Doesn't help I'm currently tackling a serious nutella addiction.. :blush: Although I do try and eat lots of fruit and salad and other healthy stuff to balance it out!! 

I thought you might be an academic as you mentioned going from contract to contract before. I seriously considered a career in the academia once but was put off by the uncertainty. Although I did like the relaxed atmosphere and long coffee breaks when I was doing my phd. Anyway that door is well and truly closed for me now as even though I just about got through the post grad degree I never got around to writing the papers I was supposed to about my research... 

I might look into magnesium for my trip, although it's only a short flight to central Europe. 

I'm the same as you, I mostly feel her on my right when I lie down. Sometimes it actually hurts a bit when she moves and I can see this big bulge appear on the right and it's really hard too. Not quite sure what it is, back, bottom? I even wondered if it could be BH contractions but it's just on my right so must be the little one squirming! She's still very low down as well and has taken to kicking or punching my private parts, it's actually made me yelp a couple of times when she's kicked my cervix or bladder or something really hard, feels very uncomfortable when she does that!! But of course wouldn't change it for anything, still love feeling her so often now!

ETA Just after I posted that I received this email: 
Now you are 24 weeks pregnant, both you and your baby are continuing to grow well. Your baby is now about 27-30cm and weighs about 570 grams. 
*At 24 weeks, you will start putting on a lot of weight.*

Guess there's no escape then from the weight gain!!:haha:


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## MeganS0326

Hi ladies!!

dimmu - glad you've been feeling a bit better and congrats on V-day! I'm really dreading weight gain this pregnancy so I know how you feel. So far I haven't put on any weight but I feel like a house already. :haha: I gained 30lbs with DS and would like to try and keep it under that this time. I hope your work trip goes smoothly. I think you made the right call about refusing the additional work on the trip. Cute bump pic!!

eva - Sorry you did not get offered the job in Canada, but as you say it was probably for the best. I can't imagine an overseas move being pregnant or with a newborn. We are going to be selling our house and buying a bigger one in the next few months and I'm not looking forward to that at all and that is in the same city. :haha: Love your bump pic too!!


AFM, had a routine OB appointment this past week. Dr. yelled at me because I hurt myself kicking a full laundry basket around my house instead of picking it up. I was in some major pain for a day or two and had a tiny bit of spotting so was freaked out a bit. Thankfully baby is all good. Next appointment isn't until April 28th which seems forever away but I will get my anomaly scan that day so that is exciting!


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## JJay

Hi everyone, sorry I've not been around much. Work has been busy and I'm feeling very 'nesty' so when I've not been working I've been tidying, sorting and shopping at ikea! I've just been dipping in and out of the forums but not sat down to have a proper catch up and post. 

I'll do a full read up tomorrow and update from me but lovely to see everyone's doing well and some fab bumps! Congrats on v day Dimmu and Eva! 

J X


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## JJay

Ok, I think I am properly caught up with everyone's news!


Eva, sounds like you've had a tough time with your phone, sickness and the job. They say bad things happen in threes so hopefully that's it now and only good things from here on. 


Dimmu, I hope your trip goes well. I don't blame you for not wanting to do the extra meetings. I wouldn't fancy a business trip right now as I feel big and uncomfortable. I am scared by the 'At 24 weeks you will start putting on a lot of weight' I put on around 70lb with DD and DS but started off heavier this time so really don't want to end up putting that much on again. I'm up 20lb so far and feeling massive - the baby weighs around a pound so that's 19lb of something else. Oh dear. I need to put down the chocolate but feel like I've got permanent PMT and no willpower.


Miss B, Glad you noticed the date on your form! I have a midwife appointment next Thursday so I will make sure I check mine! I'm going to try and get away with my regular bras if I can. I managed ok with DD and DS - My boobs have grown but as they are big anyway (36G) I think it's not as noticeable. If I'm too uncomfortable at the end I might just wear some of my nursing bras early.


Megan, sorry to hear you hurt yourself. Spotting is scary and I'm glad you're ok. It's hard sometimes remembering we need to take it a bit easier. I feel like I spend so much time running around after DD and DS, work and housework I sometimes forget I'm pregnant. I legged it after DS yesterday when he ran away in a restaurant during a tantrum and had loads of pain in my bump afterwards - I don't think running is good for my ligaments!


Llawson, glad you got your harmony test! Fingers crossed you get the results soon, I remember that the waiting is hard.


MrsW - I think you have your next scan soon? Good luck.


Has anyone heard from Ali? Just wondered how she was getting on.


I've just snapped a quick bumpie so will post it from my phone after I've finished this post. It's an almost V-day bump - roll on Saturday! A lovely milestone to reach. Dimmu and Eva you both have such lovely neat bumps mine is a monster! I keep getting comments like 'not long left now'! I'm going to embrace it though as it's the last time I'll have a baby bump and I know I'll miss it. I'm feeling lots more movement now, not really regular although I notice it particularly when I first lie down in bed each night.


Only other thing I've been suffering with is terrible constipation - I've stopped taking my prenatals and been drinking grape juice mixed with syrup of figs each morning which is seeming to help a little ughhhhh pregnancy is so unglamourous!


Anyway, school breaks up today and I'm looking forward to lots of Easter Egg hunts etc. in the holidays. Happy Easter everyone, I hope you all have a lovely time :)


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## JJay

Bumpety Bump
 



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## LLawson

Eva and JJay, cute bump pics!
I supposedly had the Harmony (Materni21 here) done a little over 2 weeks ago. After a week of having it done I started calling the doc for results and the first few times they said they were not back yet. I called back at exactly 2 weeks and they said they called the lab the day before and they didnt have an order so they researched and realized the lady never drew blood for it. I was livid! That was the main thing I wanted done that day. They took about 6 tubes of blood so I thought for sure it would have been done.. So I was waiting over 2 weeks for something that was never even done! Anyway, I went back in yesterday, they took 2 more tubes of blood and sent it off. She said it would be 7-14 days. I have another visit and ultrasound on the 31st. I hope its back by then.
Im pretty disappointed, I had planned on telling everyone on Easter but was wanting to confirm everything was ok before letting everyone know. :( 
Now Im at a dilemma of whether to tell everyone or wait?


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## Miss Bellum

Evening all, 
Picked up my new Mat 1 form today, thankfully all correct this time. 
Hope everyone has a lovely Easter holiday. 
dimmu - Congrats on V day. How lovely that your lg got to feel the baby move. How sweet she can hear the baby too. My lg occasionally tells me she can hear the baby bumping! 
I dont get an extra appointment to see the midwife, I just had to pick up the new form from reception. I think our appointment dates are equally spaced out. I do miss have the extra appointments I had with the first, I liked being able to hear the hb. 
We have some names on a short list but cant really decided on one yet.
Nutella, yummy! 
This little bean seems to be something of an acrobat, I seem to feel her moving around loads lately! I dont remember my first being quite so lively. Nice to have the reassurance though. 

eva - lovely bump picture. What a shame you arent aloud to share the leave. 

Megan - Sorry about your injury hope it heals soon. Spotting always worrying but glad everything appears to be well. 
JJay - Probably just as well to make the most of the nesting! I just keep putting it off. Handy that you wont need to bother with maternity bras, they arent the nicest things in the world! 

What a lovely bump x 

Llawson - Thats unbelievable! Cant believe they messed up something that important and didnt seem to realise! Id be fuming. Is Easter the next time you see all your family? Id probably tell them but Im rubbish at keeping secrets.


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## LLawson

Miss Bellum, its hard for me to keep a secret too! Its killing me!
I was going to have quite a few family members in one place on Easter thats why I was wanting to do it that way but I live pretty close to my whole family so I can see them anytime. Just a matter of deciding what I want to do now. I was really hoping I could tell everyone the gender too when I announced it.
And yes I was fuming over that test and still am! That was a really big deal to me. The worst part was finding out I had been stressing and waiting 2 weeks on something that was never done. :(


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## eva1978

Hello, happy belated Easter! Did everyone do anything exciting for the holiday, find lots of Easter eggs? :) 

Sorry I've been MIA. Now it's DH's turn to work a lot (he worked a lot over the weekend) so I've been having even less time to myself, except at night, when I'm usually too tired to properly catch up! 

LLawson, so sorry about the harmony test screw up! What a major bummer... what did you end up doing re: telling family over Easter? 

Megan - glad you are ok after the laundry incident! I'm still scared to see spotting when I go to the toilet... hasn't happened so far though. How exciting that you're moving to a larger house! Do you have a place or a neighbourhood picked out yet? We want to do that at some point as well, but at this point we're saving some money renting where we are and aren't sure where our next jobs will be, so will probably stay put for a bit longer. I think I'll need a bigger house though once baby #3 starts walking/running around! We'll have to put the two older kids in one room at some point, which should be fine but will take some adjustment. 

Dimmu I totally understand the Nutella addiction! And with all this extra chocolate lying around from Easter... yikes. I should give some of it away to people at work! Probably won't though ;-) 
What made you change from pursuing academia to something else? A lot of people in astro now who are getting PhDs are encouraged to look for non-academic employment - you tend to have job security, higher salary and better work-life balance (though I guess that depends on the specific job) once you leave academia... the sooner the better! I agree though - the super relaxed part of it is something I would miss if I leave. It does have its perks. 

The kicking down low sounds painful. I haven't had that really, but starting to feel mildly crampy down there the last week. It's more amplified if I've been fairly active. I don't remember feeling that as much with my other two pregnancies at this stage... trying to take things a bit easy. Managing to do minimal exercise. So far the weather is still cooperating. 

Has anyone been measured for/measured their own fundal height? I looked up how to do it and tried to measure myself (though heard it's not possible to do it properly on yourself). It says from ~24 weeks you should be around the same size in cm from the top of your pubic bone to the top of your uterus, and this is *lying down*. Assuming I felt the right location for my uterus, I am WAY below 24 cm, maybe 19 max?! So it's gotten me a bit worried. I think my bump looks like a decent size when standing but apparently the measurement isn't meant to be taken standing. Hopefully I'm either doing it wrong or the baby is lying in a funny way or something :-/ 

JJay congrats on V-day, and great bumpie! 
I'm also noticing my bowls are a bit less active than usual... trying to drink even more water! Are you taking iron? I switched pre-natal brands and I think my new brand has more iron in it than the previous ones... maybe that's what's going on! 
I'm sorry you had pain after chasing after DS :-/ I'm starting to think I also need to back off when dealing with picking up our sons (well, the 2 yr old... I've basically stopped picking up the 5 year old)! Getting to the point where I feel I should make DH do that stuff, when possible!
I've started wearing a couple of my old nursing bras. They don't fit perfectly but they're better than my 'normal' ones, which I've mostly stopped wearing. 

I still don't know how much weight I've gained... a bit scared to find out! The scale in our bathroom needs a new battery... and we have to go and buy the right type. Should probably do that at some point, bite the bullet and stand on the thing! 

Miss B, great your forms are all good now! How nice to feel the baby move so much.


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## LLawson

Eva, I kept quiet about it. It was so hard to do!!!
Im still waiting on my tests results. I havent heard anything yet. I go for an ultrasound Thursday though. :)


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## dimmu

Hello everyone, 

So nice to read all your updates! Glad to hear everyone's pregnancies are going well. 

JJAy- good to hear from you, love your bump pic!! You look great! My bump looks smaller in comparison only because I have a long back so it has space to spread out vertically. You look lovely and slim otherwise in your photo, I haven't weighed myself since before I got pregnant, I'm too scared. But as I can barely fit into my knickers I think I must have put on quite a bit of weight already. 
I'm also suffering from constipation, horrid! With DD I got it really bad but it started much later. I'm also already starting to get the other horrible problem associated with constipation - piles. :blush: Had to see my GP about them. :( 
Congrats on V-day as well, not long now and we'll be on our third trimester!! :happydance:

Megan - I hope everything is well and that spotting was only temporary. I also kick the laundry basket around if it is very heavy, gotta be more careful I guess!! If only I could get DH to do the laundry instead - sigh. How exciting about the new house! Have you found one already? I don't think we'll ever be able to upgrade our flat to a bigger one or to a house. The prices have gone mental here since we bought and could never afford anything in this area again. And really love it where we are now so wouldn't want to move elsewhere, especially as it would mean changing schools for DD and her school is lovely. 

LLawson - hope you get your test results soon. Good luck with your ultrasound, let us know how it goes!! 

Miss B - glad you had the form sorted. I handed mine in yesterday so it's all official now. As of today I only have 9 weeks left at work, amazing!!! I don't like it that the appointments are so far apart, at least you're getting an extra scan aren't you? I think I will pay for a private scan at around 32-34 weeks to see how the baby is getting on. My bubba is also very active, much more so than DD was. She's constantly kicking and squirming, it's funny to see how my belly goes all hard on one side when she pushes her back or bottom or something against it. Definitely nice to have the reassurance but I can't help but worry she's gonna get all tangled up in the cord at this rate!! 

Eva - I still have one huge egg left from Easter and it keeps calling me. The only thing stopping me is that it's a Frozen egg with Anna and Elsa on it so think I'm obliged to share it with DD. But at least I can have my nutella without her noticing!!! :) 
With regards to the academia I just wanted a better job security, the next step would have been a post-doc and those are usually 1-3 year contracts. And I would have had to write all those papers I never got around to writing!! Also by then I had met my OH and wanted to move to London to be with him and at the time there wasn't really anything suitable in the unis here so ended up looking for a job in the private sector instead. Oh and on top of that I just had had enough of lab work, just never wanted to work in one ever again!! 
Funny your baby is also more active than the previous ones! I wonder if you just are more aware of the movements now or if we are all carrying some hyperactive babies! 
I actually tried measuring the fundal height the other night and like you I can only get some 19 cm if that. I assume I'm just doing it wrong as the baby was the right size in the 20 week scan. Still another 3 weeks until my next midwife appointment when it probably gets measured for the first time, I hate this waiting!! 
The weather is finally turning for the better here so I should really get started with some exercising, I have no excuses now. Easier said than done though!


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## LLawson

Well, ITS A BOY! Another boy in the house! Im surrounded by them but I dont mind. They are easier to raise than the girls.
So my Ramzi Theory I had done was wrong. 
Ive had nothing but boy dreams the whole time but the Ramzi Theory said girl and my heartbeat had been in the 160s so the doctor said possibly a girl too.
I had the ultrasound first and she said she suspected boy but didnt want me buying any boy stuff until I got my MaterniT21 results back. I had to wait but they finally got them faxed while I was there (almost 2 hours). FINALLY! My Doc was pretty upset they had not come in yet and was determined to get them while I was there. It confirmed it was a BOY! The MaterniT21 was negative and the genetic stuff they looked for on the ultrasound was perfect so we are good!


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## eva1978

Wow congrats on the little boy LLawson!! :) And great news about the genetic results! 
That must have been tough to keep things under wraps at Easter. Do you have an idea of when you'll spill the beans now? 

Dimmu - I had to look up what piles are but ahh yes - I know those. I think I have a minor case of them, nothing that luckily needs intervention at this point. I hope they don't get any worse for you and if anything, fade away and don't come back! 
Thanks for the info on your fundal height. Phew... I feel a bit better now :) 
I understand not eating the Frozen egg lol... I think my son would cry bloody murder if I were to eat such a thing without him. He's mighty Frozen-obsessed! Hope you both enjoy it once you crack it open! 

Yeah the postdoc thing... it's great if you're single and/or don't have any dependents. But for couples who want to stay in the same city (and esp if you have kids), it's not the ideal career path. I was able to extend my first 3 yr postdoc by taking mat leave (I met my SO while doing my first postdoc), but not all institutions are set up for that. I'm lucky that DH was also willing to take a job in Australia and that our visas all worked out etc... otherwise we probably would have both already quit academia. 
What kind of stuff did you work on in the lab? I haven't worked in a lab since undergrad, in a way I miss it! But my work now is mostly theoretical... I don't even really use telescopes. 

I had my glucose tolerance test yesterday. I won't know results until next week but don't suspect anything strange. I did end up feeling quite ill about 45 mins after "the drink", and I had to lie down... felt like I was going to either faint or throw up :wacko: felt much better after lying down though. Was able to catch a bit of a cat nap! 

Have a great weekend everyone!


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## LLawson

Thanks Eva, Im going to try and catch everyone today and start telling them.


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## Miss Bellum

Hi all hope everyone is doing well. 

Not a lot going on here. Pleased to be at 24 weeks so have had Vday! Getting very bumpy now and feeling lots of moment. 

We were on holiday last week which was lovely not looking forward to going back tomorrow. Spent a few days in Southampton so we could take lg to Peppa Pig land. She loved it and it was a nice break. Apart it took hours to settle her for the first night in the hotel. Also, she had a total meltdown when it was time to leave which was a bit of a shame. Not over the fact we were leaving, but she had a really full nappy and wouldnt let us change her. We told her unless she co-operated, there would be no toy from the shop, and had to follow through on it. 

Eva - I haven't attempted to measure the fundal height. Just keeping fingers crossed all is ok. I always find scales scary and try to avoid them wherever possible. GT test sounds awful hope you are feeling better now. 


Llawson - sorry you had to keep quiet. Congratulations on your boy glad the test was ok. 

Dimmu - Only 9 weeks left wow that will fly by. It does seem odd that you get so few checks second time around I dont see the midwife till the end of April now. I should be getting the extra scan at 34 weeks so something to look forward to. I cant actually see any movement yet must be really funny to see yours.


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## eva1978

How is everyone? Feeling well I hope! 

Congrats on Vday Miss B! Peppa Pig land sounds great - I never knew that one existed! I've been to Southampton once (just briefly) - looks like a nice place! Too bad about the melt down but yes you really have to stick to your guns in those situations! Or behaviours just keep getting worse! 

LLawson - if you started telling people I hope that's been going over well! 

I had my second midwife appt today. Was only 15 mins long but it was very good. She measured my fundal height and I'm right on sched! She measured 26 cm and I'm 26 weeks tomorrow :) so I guess I was way off on my own sketchy measurements. Probably it's the same for you, dimmu! She also told me how the baby was lying, which the tech during my earlier ultrasounds never did despite me asking. He/she is mostly head-down, which is nice to know! The bumpy part that sticks out more (that I thought may be the head) is actually the back. My next u/s is in 3 weeks. GTT results are also all good!


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## dimmu

Hello everyone, hope you are all doing well!

All is good here, the bump is getting bigger by the day. The advantage is that people have started giving me their seats on the train, there's usually someone polite enough to do that even though probably 90% just look away. I seem to have some trouble sleeping these days, I keep waking up for the toilet and then can't get back to sleep after. It's worse on work nights as I get all anxious if I'm wide awake at 3 am and I have to get up for work at 5.30am. Oh well, I had my holidays approved so just eight more weeks of work left!! :happydance:

Luckily my embarrassing pile problem has gone away before it got worse. Think it helped that I got some treatment early on. With DD1 I didn't know what was going on so it got quite bad before I went to doc's about it. :( 
The baby is pretty active these days, do you know when you are supposed to start monitoring the kicks, at 28 weeks? I seem to have some kicking action or movement pretty much hourly these days which is lovely, but it does hurt at times as well when she really squirms. 

Is anyone planning to take any antenatal classes at all? The ones my hospital provides don't sound overly useful unless you're a first time mum so think I'll just do the labour ward tour. I did also sign up for an NCT refresher course but this will only go ahead if there's enough interest. This would be mainly just to meet some other local mums to be. With DD1 I did hypnobirthing but not gonna bother with that this time, didn't work for me. 

Eva- Glad to hear your measurements are up to date and the baby is head down. I wonder if my baby is in the same position and the hard part that sticks out whenever she really squirms is her bottom or back. I have my GT test next week and the midwife appointment the week after, they should be measuring me then. Glad to hear your GT test was all good!

With regards to the academia.. Apart from the coffee breaks and relaxed atmosphere not really missing it. I worked with lasers which sounds all glamorous but in reality it meant that I was stuck in a lab with no windows on my own all day with a big red light outside the door stopping people from coming in! I absolutely hated it, I'm not a chatterbox but still fairly sociable so spending every day alone was awful. The coffee breaks were my only escape, I also still smoked at the time so I of course ended up smoking more as well just to get out and see people lol! 

Miss B - Congrats on the V day!
We always meant to take DD to the Peppa Pig land but never got around to it. These days she's more into Power rangers and My little pony high school stuff and some other horribly annoying American stuff, but I'm sure she'd still enjoy peppa pig land. Maybe we'll do it once DD2 is old enough to enjoy it. 
It's nice you get that extra scan, I will just have to pay for one but think it's worth it. 

Llawson - congrats on the baby boy, glad to hear everything was well in the genetic tests too! Have you told everyone now?

Oooh just realised I'm on double digits now - woohoo!! :)


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## LLawson

Well, we finally got to tell EVERYONE! I am a little overwhelmed after I posted my announcement on facebook Sunday night cause Ive had non-stop calls, texts and messages since about 10 last night and they are still coming!
We told my in laws first on Saturday and Early Sunday. They are Ecstatic! This is my husbands first biological child and his Fathers first biological grandchild so you can imagine the excitement! I knew they would be excited but I never imagined to this extent! His Mom took us straight to the Mall and bought over 300.00 in maternity clothes. Crazy! Shes already talking about all the stuff shes found to buy. LOL so again I was kinda overwhelmed. Everyones in total shock cause Im already 15 weeks and know the gender. I guess Im a little selfsh for not telling everyone earlier but I wanted to make sure things were ok.
I will post my facebook announcements from my phone. The pics are still upside down when I try and post them from my Ipad. Alot of people thought my dog was pregnant! LOL after you see the pics youll understand. They must have not read the sign very well. Tyson is the dogs name and all my family and friends know this! LOL


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## LLawson

Announcements we put on Facebook.
 



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## LLawson

Announcement with put with the other one
 



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## eva1978

Haha great announcement pics, LLawson! 
I'll write more a bit later on in the week :)


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## dimmu

Lovely pics llawson!:)


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## Miss Bellum

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well. 

Not a lot to report here, all going well and fairly quietly. 

Our LG has been advising on names and she thinks we should be calling her new sister Duck! That hadn't made it onto our list funnily enough! 

Eva - PP world is part of Paultons Park so there is a fair amount to do for children of all ages. They are just building a new dinosaur themed bit which I'm sure LG will love when shes's a bit older. 

Good to hear your mw appointment went well and all seems fine. 

Dimmu - Glad your pile problem has cleared up! Never pleasant. 

I cant quite remember when you are supposed to regularly count kicks but I think so long as long as you feel the usual level of movement from your lo it's usually fine. 

I was going to do a NCT refresher course but decided we could use the money for other things instead. Will just use local FB groups to meet up with other ladies this time. 

Llawson - Aww lovely that you have finally been able to tell everyone. What a lovely reaction from your family. 

Lovely announcement pictures. I still find it quite funny there is a sauce called preggo!


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## MeganS0326

Hi ladies!! Glad everyone is doing well. I've been super busy the past few weeks and haven't had time to post but I've been following along. 

So I'm 18 weeks tomorrow and still haven't felt any proper movements. It had me freaking out because I'm sure I felt DS way earlier than this. After scouring the internet I feel better as apparently some women don't feel movement until like 21weeks. I'm having a hard time bonding with this pregnancy, I think because I'm so busy with DS and being team yellow. I wish the kicks would start as I think that will help it feel more real. I'm getting over a stupid UTI that had me in a lot of pain for a few days and am dealing with an unbearable amount of sciatica pain. :growlmad: 

Sorry for the rant! Hope you are all having a great weekend!!!


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## LLawson

Thanks everyone! Megan Im just now feeling some flutters and Ive had 3 children. I swear I think I was feeling them last alot earlier too. It worries me so I got a doppler to listen to the heartbeat so that reassures me hes still there. I feel like Ive been able to bond alot more now that I know the gender and my children and husband are bonding with him now too. Now that they know hes a boy they keep talking about all the things they are going to do with him. Its really cute actually! The guys want to name him Raylen so thats what they are calling him now. I want Kye (Malakye) but I think they are going to keep battling me on this one!


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## dimmu

Hi everyone

Still not much to report here either, baby is still very active which is nice unless it's 3 am in the morning!:)

Miss B - Our DD has also come up with a number of suggestions for the name, mostly based on tv shows she's seen or kids in her school. Nothing quite like Duck though! :) For a while she was determined the baby should be JJ, and she keeps suggesting her own name as well. Last night she suggested Tilly and I actually quite like Matilda, Tilly not so much. Would go nicely with DD's name that is also traditional. 

I'm still gonna do the NCT refresher course early June, hoping to meet some local mums there. Our area is a bit funny, where we live is not the best but it's surrounded by some of the most affluent parts of London. So I'm often struggling to meet mums I actually have much in common with, they're either very well off and like to discuss private schools and shopping trips to New York etc., and then you have the other end of the spectrum ie. people who don't work and have kids very young, compared to me anyway. We are somewhere in between. Hope that doesn't make me sound terribly snobbish or stuck up by the way! 

Megan good to see you here as well, although sorry to hear you're having such a hard time! My colleague didn't feel her baby until 22 weeks so think it's normal. I felt DD1 at 17 weeks and this one since 13/14 weeks, but this baby it's much more active than DD ever was so think it depends on the baby as well. I hope your UTI clears soon at least. 

LLawson so sweet that your boys are connecting with the baby! I like the name Raylen, don't think I've ever known anyone with that name.


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## eva1978

Hi all, hope everyone is having a good weekend. 

Megan sorry about your UTI and other hardships - ouch :( Regarding the movement, I hope you start to feel something very soon! With this pregnancy I felt distinct movement at 14 weeks and then nothing very distinct again until much later... maybe 18 weeks? So hang in there! :) Perhaps the baby is moving about tonnes but mostly kicking your placenta, in which case you won't feel it so much. 

Pretty cute name suggestion by your LG Miss B :) I also don't plan on doing any extra courses... is the NCT one about birthing/labour? I attended one class on 'next birth after c-section' which was very useful, but that's it. I did one tour of the labour ward before I had my first back in Germany, though I ended up in the operating theatre anyway. It was still eye opening and I'm glad I did the tour. I think they have similar facilities here. 

LLawson how nice you are narrowing down on a name :) sounds like you have a lot of excited family around who are supportive. I hope you aren't feeling too overwhelmed! 

Our older son has suggested some names: Max, Lily, and I think another girl's name (Duck is pretty great though)! 

Great that the piles problem has subsided dimmu. With the kick counting: I remember something ~28 weeks but I asked my MW about that and she said that it's better to 'get to know your baby' and his/her movements, and go with that as the norm. I think the standard advice is to make sure you feel X kicks in Y hours, but this just doesn't work for all pregnancies since some babies are less/more active etc. Was it 10 movements in 2 hours? I can't remember. 

You said you tried hypnobirthing? Was it a lot of work to prepare? I wasn't planning on trying that but I am a bit curious. Good luck on your GTT! I do like the name Matilda ... very Aussie ;-) We know one couple with a young daughter named Matilda. 

I realised that I will have to have this baby no later than July 15, since I want him/her to be vaccinated before we fly to Europe. We've booked our flights (mostly for work + to see in-laws... a bit crazy) for late August and the nurse absolutely won't give the 2 month vacs before 6 weeks of age. I guess this means if nothing happens naturally I will have to schedule a c-section for the 15th. This is only 1-2 days after the due date so I'm a bit bummed. Hopefully things happen by or before my due date! I'm not completely against another c-section but I would rather it's not for this particular reason. We're constrained by this workshop though :-/ 

Does anyone have experience with modern cloth diapers? We've always been a disposable nappy family but I want to make the switch to non-disposable ones for this baby, save on all that garbage etc. I've heard really good things about pre-folds. Just wondering if anyone has used any? :)


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## JJay

Hi Everyone, sorry I've not been around. I've been feeling quite tired and not much energy lately. I guess I'm hitting the uncomfortable third trimester now and the nice easy non-eventful second trimester is pretty much done with!

LLawson huge congrats on your baby boy! :) I love your announcements. 

Eva, sorry to hear you'll have to book a section for the 15th I will keep my fingers crossed something happens by then so you get your vbac. I'm pretty much resigned to a third section although I'll see what they say at my scan and consultants appointment next Thursday. We've always used disposable nappies and I plan to again this time - I probably should consider cloth but I just can't bear the thought of even more washing - I usually have the machine on 1-2 times a day now so it will be worse with a baby too! 

Dimmu, I like your daughters name suggestion of JJ ;) haha. My daughter is insistent on Rose for a girl but as her name is Rosie I don't think that's very likely! I've tried to explain it would be confusing! My names lost changes weekly so I think we'll wait until much nearer the time to decide. My favourites this week are Gemima for a girl and Archie for a boy. 

Hey Megan, sorry to hear about your UTI and sciatica - I also have bad back pain at the moment. Some positions just send shooting pains across my back. This has happened with all of my pregnancies so I guess I'll just have to put up with it for a while. I felt movement quite early but it took forever to get strong and regular. At 18 weeks I was still going days without feeling anything. I'm sure in a few weeks baby will be keeping you awake! 

Miss B, glad things are going well. Hahahha love the name Duck - that's brilliant! We've been to Peppa Pig world too and had a great time. It was a long way though so not sure we'll make the journey again. We've found CBeebies land at Alton towers is fab too and a little nearer for us. 

Not much to report here either - I am gigantic and can't stop eating so it's only going to get worse. I'm feeling very much heavily pregnant now and have a definite waddle. I'm struggling to walk any distance as my bump and back hurt. I'm getting beaten up regularly by baby now - I haven't started counting kicks as midwife said 28 weeks but I'm feeling strong kicks and wriggles a lot of the time which I'm loving. I think baby keeps switching breech to head down as I feel hiccups quite often too and sometimes they're really low and sometimes higher. 

I think I must be nesting as I'm making lists and shopping, tidying and organising! I think I've pretty much bought what I need except a monitor. 

Next appointment is on 22st for a scan to check babys position, weight and see if placenta has moved up. My midwife suggested I talk to the consultant about my tummy overhang from my first Emergancy section. It's got no feeling left in it and I can't use the muscles at all so even when I lose weight it hangs down and gets uncomfortable and sore. I asked about it when I had my last section but was told they couldn't do anything, however the midwife said it might be possible to get a referral to plastics or at least get it tidied up a bit in the surgery which would be amazing. Fingers crossed.


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## dimmu

Hello!

Nice to see hear from you JJay! I hope you are not too upset that JJ didn't make it to our shortlist of names! :) We still can't come to an agreement. DH and I just have very different preferences! We now have Eleanor on the shortlist as well but have got friends who have a one-year old called Eleanor so not sure if it's ok. I also like Margaret but Maggie would sound bad with our last name. I really want something traditional but hubby keeps suggesting names such as Vanessa which I'm not keen on. It's so hard!! I like Gemima! Lily and Rose have also been on DD's list of suggestions. 

I'm also getting very big and slow now, not waddling yet but I get a stitch/round ligament kind of pain if I walk too fast. It's always in the same place so must be the way the baby is positioned. I can feel the baby move lots, but haven't had that stomach turning feeling for a while now so not sure if she's running out of space to make full turns and somersaults. Lots of people have commented how I've really popped now and getting bigger so guess there's no hiding it! I also can't stop eating and I have developed a real sweet tooth and keep wanting ice cream.. I could go through a tub of Ben & Jerry's in one go quite easily if I let myself.. :blush:

Jjay I'm so impressed you've done all your shopping already! I haven't bought anything yet. I will start my annual leave/maternity leave on June 2nd, and DH has booked some time off in June as well so think we'll do some shopping then when DD is at school. I also have some clothes, steriliser, bottles, monitor, cot etc left over from DD baby days, and I should be getting a moses basket from a friend. But still need lots of things, new mattress for the cot, bouncer, maybe a new sling, dummies, clothes, nappies.... 
I hope you get your tummy sorted when you have your section, that would be amazing. :)

Eva- yes I did try hypnobirthing last time. A friend of mine was swearing by it and managed to convince me to try. We did a rather expensive course with DH, I read the book, listened to the CD they gave us, practiced it in the evenings but I just wasn't getting it at all.:( It was quite frustrating to attend the course and see the other ladies (we were 4 couples) managing to relax and totally getting it. Not gonna bother with it this time. 

Can you just have a section by the 15th if you request it if there is no medical reason for it? I saw a thread about nipple stimulation to bring on labour on the third trimester board, I might try and see if it works when I'm around 39 weeks as I still have my old breast pump. 

I never did the NCT courses before as I opted for the expensive hypnobirthing course last time. That's why I thought I'd try it now, more to meet other local mums to be than anything else. Not quite sure about the content otherwise for us 2nd time mums. I will do the labour ward tour sometime soon as I gave birth in a different hospital last time. 

I've not tried cloth nappies, don't think I could do with the extra laundry and our place just isn't big enough to have clothes and nappies drying everywhere. 

I had my glucose test on Monday and it was ok. I got a bit nauseous but wasn't sick. Next week is a busy one, I have my 28 week midwife appointment, OB appointment to follow up the glucose test and I also have the dreaded work trip to look forward to. :( I have no idea what to wear as I can't fit into any of my more businessy clothes and don't want to buy something just for one client visit. Think I'll just wear one of my maternity dresses even though they're not exactly formal.


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## eva1978

Hi ladies, 

just checking in quickly since I may be offline for a while - going on a short holiday up to Queensland! :) it is likely our last "vacation" until baby arrives. Internet is supposed to be somewhat limited up there! I'll try to catch up at some stage. Still lots of packing to do... 

The names all sound cute! :) I like "old lady" names for girls. My grandmother's name was Eleanor (though my grandfather called her "El-ner") lol. Gemima and Archie are nice too! Is Archie short for Archibald, or just Archie? We're still struggling a bit with names... especially boys names. 

About a c-section if no medical reason: I think I'm a good candidate since I've already had two. The OB last time suggested I should have one anyway... so I don't think it would be an issue from the hospital's perspective. It's just that I would rather *not* have one, if everything is going smoothly. However I'm also nervous to carry more than a few days past term, based on what I've heard doctors say about mums who've only delivered via c-section before, how it's more dangerous to let things keep going. They aren't supposed to induce me either (due to the past surgery), but I'm quite happy about that! 

I also keep eating... desert every night... ugh! I should really stop doing that. Not getting enough exercise either :wacko:

Good luck at your appointments next week! Have a good weekend! (already Friday afternoon here)!


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## Miss Bellum

Evening ladies, hope you are all doing well. 

Not much going on here, still getting bigger and feeling movement quite a lot. Feeling tired a fair bit not helped by LG suddenly developing night terrors and waking at all hours of the night. We did consider moving house and were shocked by what the local estate agents valued our house at! We have had a look around some of the areas we considered but we cant find any thing that seems to be better than our current home so we have decided to stay put. 

Megan- Sorry you are having to deal with sciatica & uti. Hope you feel better soon. I think with my first I never seemed to feel much movement so I think it does depend on the baby. 

Llawson - Glad you are feeling more bonded with your lo now 

Dimmu - How nice your lg is suggesting names. I like Matilda too. I know what you mean about trying to find people who you can connect with. Hopefully the NCT will help you with that. I met a lovely group first time round and we are still in touch. Planning a get together to celebrate 3 years in May (Going a few months early so we could avoid clashing with any new arrivals). I think I am lucky Bristol seems to have loads of different groups so there really is something for everyone which makes it much easier to make friends. Some start as FB groups for natural parenting, walking with families - is there anything similar you could find? 

I like Eleanor for a girl - its our LG's name so I am biased! Me & OH agree that we like the more traditional names which can be shortened but cant quite decide which ones sound best. 

Eva - First NCT spent ages on birth labour, breastfeeding and very minimal time on what to do once the baby arrived. Personally, as someone who didn't even know how to change a nappy, I would have much preferred the focus to be the other away around. They said the refresher would cover birth, bf and how to help children adjust so not sure I'd get much out of it. 

I like your son's choice of names.

Hope you can get vaccinations sorted. 

I really like the idea of re-usable nappies but cant seem to quite get to grips with them. There just seem to be so many options out there! 

Have a lovely holiday. 

Jjay - Sorry you are uncomfortable, hope you start feeling better soon. I like your current choice of names. 

I'd love to try Cbeebie land but its a bit far for us.

Hope the scan goes well & fingers crossed you can get some help with the tummy.


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## dimmu

Hello, hope everyone is doing well. 

Not much going on here, the baby is very active and her movements feel painful at times. Had my 28 week midwife appointment today and the baby is still in a transverse position with her bum towards my pelvis and head somewhere near my ribs on the right side, she hasn't moved since the 20 week scan. At least it explains why her movements feel uncomfortable at times. Here's hoping she'll turn soon!

Miss B - I really like both Eleanor and Matilda at the moment, DH still needs convincing. I favour the traditional names, I think I would have like Charlotte as well if it wasn't for the royals!
I kind of wish I had done NCT the first time around instead of hypnobirthing, couldn't afford doing both at the time. Then again we have moved to a different part of London since then so probably would have lost contact with those people by now anyway. Hopefully the NCT refresher course will go ahead and there are some nice people there. Not sure I'll get that much out of the course itself. I'm not that keen on facebook these days but might try that as well. A natural parenting group sounds like a good idea, maybe I'll try and find some sling/babywearing groups as well. 

Hope your LG is better and is no longer suffering from night terrors. Has your house price gone up then? We bought our flat just before the housing market went crazy so don't think we'll ever be able to upgrade now. I'd love to live in a house with a garden but don't think that's ever gonna happen unless we move somewhere further out and DH is against that. 

Eva - Hope you are having a lovely time on your break! I'm jealous, we haven't got any holidays planned for this year, don't think we can afford anything other than day trips to the seaside and similar when I'm on maternity leave and only getting SMP. DD also keeps asking to go to the Caribbean as she wants to play in the waves! We went there last year to visit DH's relatives and she of course loved it. Have to keep telling her that we won't be going back for quite some time now. :( 
Maybe we can go to Spain or Greece or somewhere next year, I've actually never been on a Mediterranean beach holiday so not sure how much that would cost. Well maybe something for next year but certainly not now. 

Anyway, have a lovely week everyone and hopefully will catch up again soon!


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## MeganS0326

Hi ladies! I'm sorry for being such a downer in my last post. I'm doing much better! UTI is gone (yay!) and baby started kicking so all in all it's been a pretty good week. Still having some pretty bad sciatica pain. Going to schedule a chiropractor appointment sometime soon to see if I can get some relief. I keep feeling like my legs are going to give out on me and it's happened a few times on the stairs so kinda scary. I hope they can fix me!!

Lawson - Love the name Raylen!! My DH would never go for it though. Boo!

Dimmu - I like Matilda a lot too! As for courses, I never took anything apart from the hospital tour with DS but this time I'm considering taking a breastfeeding class. I'm determined to not FF this time and I'm wondering if it would be of help to me at all. Good luck on your work trip this week. I hope it goes smoothly for you!!

eva1978 - I really hope baby cooperates and arrives on their own before 7/15. I've never done cloth diapers but I like the idea in theory but my laundry room is so tiny and is already a source of daily aggravation so I just don't think I could mentally handle all of the extra washing. :haha: Have fun in Queensland! My great grandmother was from Queensland and my great grandfather was from Brisbane. Getting to Australia to visits some family I have over there is on my bucket list.

JJay - Good luck at your consultant appointment on Thursday. I hope that you are cleared to try for a VBA2C if you decide you want one. If you do end up having to go the route of another CS I hope that they are able to fix your tummy troubles for you at least.

Miss Bellum - Sorry about your LG going through night terrors. That can't be fun at all. I hope she gets over that soon!!

Have a great week ladies!!!!


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## eva1978

Hi ladies! 

Just arrived back from our holiday last night. It was great!!! :) except the extra hours of waiting time in the tiny island airport because apparently a plane broke down. At least my little one managed to have a 1.5 hr nap! 
We also got home to find we are missing a chicken, so we're down from 6 to 5. She was one of the young ones and was just about to start laying eggs. We're guessing a fox got her, but haven't yet heard back from the person who was letting them out/locking them back in their coop :( 

Sorry about your back pain and painful kicks, JJay. Hopefully it doesn't get any worse. I suppose being pregnant it's not advisable to take something like ibuprofen - which would normally be my go-to pain reliever for something like that :-/ I hope you can get some help! 
How did your scan go? Any information on possible plastics/surgery for your tummy? 

I got a call from a student midwife the other day since I had signed up for a 'help a student midwife' program. It's part of their training... so she will plan to attend the rest of my appointments and also be present at the birth. I'll get to meet her next week at my next OB appt. 

Not too long now Dimmu until your leave starts! I also plan to start my leave early June, but haven't yet filed with HR. Thanks for the info on the hypnobirthing. Sounds like it's not worth the risk of $$, just in case it doesn't work. 
I didn't know about nipple stimulation and labour inducing... so that can work from a breast pump? I don't have one but may be able to rent one, that's what we did in Germany from the local pharmacy. Actually I just realized I do have a small portable one that can run on batteries :) perhaps I'll try that in about 10 weeks or so! 
When do you leave for your business trip? Or did it happen this past week? Manage to find something to wear? 

That's cute DD wants to go back to the Caribbean! I don't blame her, I want to go too! ;-) I guess it's quite far though from Europe. 
We took a nice holiday when I was pregnant with DS2 (when we lived in Germany) to Menorca, Spain (Son Bou). We stayed at a lovely family-friendly place called Royal Son Bou Family Club. They have little apartments and also offer some daycare facilities as well as evening entertainment for the small kids. We didn't use any of the 'we watch your kid while you eat' services since our son was only 2.5 years old and not quite comfortable with being left with strangers (we tried for 5 mins so we could have one "adult only" quick meal but no go, lol). I imagine though that for kids 4+ who are used to some kind of daycare it's great fun! Gives you a chance to only worry about the baby for a few hours :) 
https://www.royalsonbou.com/en/home

Miss B - thanks for the NCT class breakdown. I was also clueless about how to change diapers when I had my first so that kind of thing would have been useful! Night terrors sound stressful. Any clue about how to help? We've luckily never had that happen though a friend of mine did with her (then) 2-3 year old girl. I'm not sure how/why things resolved themselves though. 

Glad things are a bit better now Megan! Neat that you have relatives who were from Queensland/Brissy! We didn't get to properly visit the great barrier reef on this trip since we felt it would be a waste of money seeing as none of our kids can properly swim... so snorkelling off a boat may not have gone so well! We hope to return there in a few years and do one of those big boat tours that take you out to see the reef/snorkel/dive etc. I guess most of the reef is dying so it's a good idea to go sooner than later. 

The place we stayed on Hamilton Island was great. Effectively there are many different accommodation options and no matter where you stay you can use pools/restaurants/child care facilities at the main resort. Eating out is very expensive but we had a kitchen in our apartment which made things more reasonable. Instead of renting a car everyone gets a golf cart to drive around the island with! It was all very relaxed and I was very impressed with the daycare (though we only used it for two 3-hr sessions). 

Re: disposable nappies: I'm still not sure what to get either given the overwhelming options! I chatted to a friend about it though and I think I'm going to try the prefolds and maybe get a few other kinds in a small sample pack just to see what works. I'll give it a go and see if it sticks. Though when travelling I think we'll be mostly using disposables! 

Enjoy your weekends!


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## Miss Bellum

Hi ladies hope you are all well. Not a lot to report here. Lots of movement, getting quite tired, tend to fall asleep on the sofa by 10pm.

Hope you all have a lovey weekend. 


Dimmu - Its can be hard trying decide what courses are worthwhile to try. If you are in a new area, I think its worth doing a nct refresher course to help meet new people. 

Our house has gone by a stupid amount but the problem is that everywhere has done likewise! We are going to look at a few different places today but luckily we like where we live so its not a major issue if we dont like anywhere else. 

Luckily the night terrors seemed to have passed fingers crossed. 

Megan - glad you are feeling better. 

Eva- Glad you had a lovely holiday apart from the delay. 

The student midwife thing sounds really useful 

The night terrors seem to have gone by themselves thankfully. We did try waking her up a few times to break the cycle but not sure if it helped or not.


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## dimmu

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well.

Megan - glad to hear you're feeling better. I hope the chiropractor can help you with the sciatica, that sounds very uncomfortable! I can see you are past 20 weeks now - yay, half way there now!! Have you had your 20 week scan yet? 

Eva - your holiday sounds amazing! I've got some family in Queensland and would love to go sometime, if only the journey wasn't so long! Hamilton island and the golf carts sound great, will keep the place in mind if we ever get to go there. Would be nice to visit the family but also to have time for yourself if you see what I mean! I have a driving licence but haven't driven for more than a decade (who needs a car in London!) but think I'd feel brave enough to drive a golf cart!:) Will definitely look into some Mediterranean destinations next year if I have any money left from my savings at that point, thanks for the recommendation! Unfortunately DD will have to wait a while before she gets to go back to the Caribbean, the flights alone cost quite a lot even if we don't have to pay much for food and accommodation there if we stay with DH's relatives. They also seem a bit crazy there when it comes to some things, or at least DH's family does, for example car seats for kids, they just don't seem to use them and even seatbelts don't always get used :wacko: (a bit like it was in Europe when we were kids I guess!) so wouldn't be overly keen to go there with a young baby/toddler!

Sorry to hear about you chicken though, poor thing!:( I didn't even realise there were foxes in Australia. I'd love to have chickens as we go through a lot of eggs but not exactly an option when you live in a flat in a city centre. We do have two rabbits though who live on our roof terrace, at least the foxes can't get to them!

I think hypnobirthing works great for some people, like that friend of mine who convinced me to do it, she absolutely loved it. Unfortunately it wasn't for me, maybe it was just the course I chose, some other instructor might have been better. 

I think I will give the breastpump a go in about ten weeks as well to try and induce labour, when you google it lots of stuff comes up so maybe there's something to it. I only have a cheap manual one, maybe should invest in an electric one. 

Miss B - Will have to see if my NHS refresher course goes ahead or not. We've been living in this part of London for some 3.5 years but I don't know anyone else who is currently pregnant so would be nice to meet some other expecting mums. I'll probably do some baby classes as well once the baby is born, although not sure how doable that will be as DD will start her school holidays quite soon after the baby is born. Maybe I'll just bring her along and take a tablet with us for her to play with or something. 

Good luck with the house hunt! The houses prices have gone mental here so if we ever wanted to upgrade we'd have to move somewhere else. It's not ideal either because of DD is at school now and we really like this area, but you need like a million or more if you want to buy a house. :( The budget we had for our flat would barely get you a studio these days and we got a 3-bed with a big terrace less than four years ago, it's just madness. 

I'm doing well otherwise, and the baby seems to be thriving. She's incredibly active, much more so than DD ever was when I was pregnant with her. The baby is still in transverse/breech lie with her head on my right, bottom on my bladder and feet on the left which is not great, it's making life quite uncomfortable for me as it feels like things are too tight, especially when she stretches which she does a lot. And of course she can't come out this way so I'm gonna use a birthing ball to try and get her to turn. 
I'll be having my whooping cough vaccine tomorrow, but otherwise I now won't have any midwife appointments until June which seems like a long time. I booked a private scan for when I'm 32 weeks, will be nice to see the baby again and it's a proper scan where they take measurements and check things, not just one of those where they take nice pictures.


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## MeganS0326

20 week scan tomorrow! Wish me luck ladies! I'll try to report back with pics but we are leaving for a beach trip on Friday so tomorrow is likely to be madness.

Hope everyones week is going well!


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## dimmu

MeganS0326 said:


> 20 week scan tomorrow! Wish me luck ladies! I'll try to report back with pics but we are leaving for a beach trip on Friday so tomorrow is likely to be madness.
> 
> Hope everyones week is going well!

Good luck today Megan, hope it all goes smoothly! :)


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## MeganS0326

Thanks, dimmiu!!

All went well today. Baby is measuring perfectly! He/she was not very cooperative so they need me to go back in 5 weeks for another sonogram to measure some stuff with the heart and the face. I only got a few pics and they are not great. They are just scary skeleton face pics. Hoping for a cute side profile pic at next appointment. 

Hope you are all doing great!!
 



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## Miss Bellum

Had a midwife appointment yesterday. Was a bit disappointing, they didnt listen to the hb :( Just measured bump & said measurements were all fine and so long as I could feel movements there was nothing to worry about. Bit of a pointless check up really. Nothing now for another six weeks. 

Dimmu - Glad alls going well with you. Hope your little one turns the right way soon and makes things a bit more comfortable for you. 

We are in the same boat as you housewise, whilst our property has gone up in value so has everything else. Have a view more viewings on Saturday so might make a decision on moving or staying then. 

It does seem like a long time between appointments on the 2nd baby. 

Megan - Glad your scan went well, shame lo wasnt more co-operative. At least it means you will get another scan. 
Nice picture. 

Hope you have a lovely holiday.


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## JJay

Hi Everyone,

Congrats on a great scan Megan and lucky you get another one to see baby again!

Miss B, glad your appointment went well but strange they didn't listen to the hb - I thought they did this every appointment from 16 weeks?

Eva, glad you had a lovely holiday but sorry to hear about your chicken :( 

Dimmu, sorry to hear your little girl is making you uncomfortable. Are they worried about the transverse lie or is that pretty common?

I've not been around much as I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself. Had my scan last Thursday and baby was measuring over 90th centile on weight, abdominal circumference and also fluid levels. I look huge too and am measuring 4 weeks ahead. Baby is still breech and placenta hasn't moved its still right next to my cervix. The consultant sent me for the GD 2 hour fasting test due to high measurements. I wasn't worried as I had the exact same thing with DS and the test was fine. I went on Monday and unfortunately the test came back that I have GD. I've got to try and manage with diet alone first and if that doesn't work I'll have to go on medication too. Ive got to test my blood 4 times a day and so far despite a super healthy diet this week I'm still getting quite high numbers so I think medication is inevitable. The diet is making me feel tired and grumpy. Ive had to cut out cake, biscuits, chocolate, ice cream, sweets, fruit juice, white carbs and very limited fresh fruit and whole meal carbs :( I feel like I want to go to sleep for the next 10 weeks then wake up with a baby, a bottle of wine and a chocolate cake!

I suppose the silver lining is I will limit my weight gain! 

Oh and consultant also said a definite no to doing anything about my tummy. 

Counting down the days!...


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## eva1978

Hi all, 

JJay I'm sorry about your GD :( though it's good they caught it. Sounds really tough with the strict diet. Hopefully after some more days of following through you'll start to see a change in bloods. Keep us posted.

That is very disappointing about the flat out NO to the tummy-fix issue. Does this mean that if you want something you have to pay extra (e.g. at another time)? Would that be covered to some extent by the medical system? If the extra skin is a result of previous surgery then maybe you can make an argument for it? I would be pissed! 

Any more news on house searching Miss B? I suppose in parts of England prices are just insane, particularly near London I assume? Last year DH and I were thinking about potentially moving to Soton for jobs, but we didn't get the offer(s). The salaries seemed a bit low for cost of living, but it's hard to judge since I've never liked in the UK. I used to think the German salaries seemed low (compared to US/Canada) but then realised that other things (like groceries and childcare) are cheap and it was actually quite a good salary. 

Disappointing the mw didn't check the HB. Maybe next time if that happens ask her to do it? Seems a bit strange... perhaps the equipment wasn't working? At least your bump is measuring well. 

The golf cart driving was a breeze, dimmu! I drive in Oz but didn't drive for about 4 years while in Europe (didn't need a car near Munich and embarrassingly I never properly learned how to drive manual)! So at least in Oz you will be used to driving the same side of the road as the UK ;-) 

That would also freak me out if in-laws/parents didn't use seatbelts/carseats. Especially if you ask them to and they don't! I get that's how we were probably carted around most of the time but now there are larger vehicles and more people on the road, in addition to the legal issue. 

That's really cool you have two rabbits + rooftop terrace! DH is somewhat obsessed with rooftop gardens/terraces. One day when we buy a place somewhere we'll see if it's something we can manage to incorporate/afford. Unfortunately we do have foxes here, they were introduced at some point. But now we think that an eagle probably took the chicken. The last two days around 4 pm we've seen 1-3 wedge-tailed eagles very close to our yard, and one was within swooping distance. The chickens were FREAKING out. Luckily my husband came around the corner at the right time and the eagles flew off. Now we're more seriously thinking about getting a dog! 

Hopefully you can help the baby to shift positions. I imagine it's easier to do that sooner than later since I think at this stage the amount of amniotic fluid starts to decrease. I tried doing things to get DS1 to flip but with no luck - but I was further along (33 weeks?) when I started trying. If the fluid levels are too lowish then it's harder for baby to shift, which may have been part of the problem. Luckily this bub is head-down so far. 

I had a scan this past week and all looked good :) I got to see the '3D/4D' (whatever it's called) image of the baby. He/she looks a lot like our DS2, e.g. seems to have DH's nose lol. My in-laws certainly think so! I met the student midwife at my OB appt and she's lovely. My next appt will be to see my 'regular' midwife mid-May. I may try to see my GP in between since I need him to add my flu and upcoming whooping cough vaccination updates to my pregnancy booklet. 

Nice that your 20 week scan went well overall Megan. How was your beach holiday? :)


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## dimmu

Good morning everyone, hope you are all doing well. 

Great picture Megan, glad to hear everything looked well. Always nice to have an extra scan! :)

Miss B- I don't even make it to 10 pm these days! I usually go to bed to read around 9.30 and five minutes later I'm nodding off! Strange they didn't do the HB, but at least everything else is looking fine. Hope the house viewing went well. I think we are stuck where we are for years to come but at least we are lucky enough not to be renting. Feel sorry for all the families having to rent with increasing costs and no security. 

JJay - so sorry to hear about the GD! :( How awful, the diet sounds really challenging! I hope it gets easier over time and your bloods improve. Have you got a date set for your ecs? Such a shame they won't fix your tummy at the same time, guess that means you can't get it fixed at all on the NHS? 

Eva- I don't think the post-docs etc pay particularly well, and Hampshire is still within commuting distance from London so think the houses are expensive. And childcare costs of course are just insane in the UK as it's all private until the child turns 3 (unless you're on low income) and not heavily government subsidised like in Germany. 

Yes the lack of car seats really freaked me out, and there was just nowhere to get/borrow one! I do remember when I was a child people not using car seats for kids, I don't remember having one although there was one for my brother when he was baby, and sometimes babies would just sit on mum's lap as well but that was the early 80s. So definitely no plans to go back to visit with the baby any time soon, think if we have the money to spend might try and go to Australia instead sometime in the next few years. 

I really didn't think things through when I got the rabbits, I wanted to have lots of plants and veggies growing on our roof terrace but the two bunnies eat absolutely anything and everything. A couple of years ago I had some salad, herbs and tomatoes growing in one of those little green houses, but somehow they managed to in and that was the end of it. :( That's bad news about the eagle, it's probably gonna come back for more. :( At least with foxes you can try and keep them out with fencing but it's harder with eagles unless you build a whole aviary for the chickens!

Great that you could see the 3/4D scan! I hope I get to have one in my private scan in three weeks, I'm not sure if it is included as it's a fetal wellbeing scan rather just a picture taking session. Will be interesting to see if the baby looks like DD who's a real mix of me and DH iwhen it comes to features, complexion, hair type.. DH has a very mixed heritage in terms of ethnicity so the baby could end up looking like anything!

Have you had any luck with finding someone to look after the older kids when you are in labour? Our neighbours have kindly agreed to take on DD once I go in labour but they're away the weekend before my due date so we still have to sort something out for then. It's really hard, you kind of have to ask people not to make any weekend plans just in case!

My baby is still very much sideways, I will really have to start looking into doing some exercises to encourage her to turn. I may wait until after my wellbeing scan before really pushing it in case there's something stopping her like a short cord. The thought of the baby doubling or even tripling in weight in the next 10 weeks sounds a bit scary if she stays transverse, my right side where her top half is already feels stretched. 
I don't think the consultant/midwife is at all worried yet about her being transverse, still plenty of time to flip. I just wish she would get on with it!


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## Miss Bellum

Jjay - sorry to hear the consultant wont do anything to help with your tummy. 

How frustrating to have GD :( Hope the diet helps. Not long to go at least, must be very hard going. Hope your LO turns soon.

Eva - We had a look at some more houses over the weekend. Not really convinced any of the ones we saw are better than what we have. The ones we can afford either need a lot of work doing or have slightly smaller rooms than our current place. The ones we could just about afford would really stretch our budget and dont seem to be quite good enough to justify the price tag. Think we may stay put for a while. Looking round does make you appreciate what you have. Our house has been done up a to a high standard and we have 3 double bedrooms. Schools are OK and we can walk to work which saves loads of money on commuting costs. So we are reaching the conclusion that we are better off here. 

House prices in the UK are getting really stupid, I do feel very sorry for anyone trying to get on the ladder now. We live in one of the most expensive parts of the UK outside London, but sadly dont have the salaries to match. Salaries in the UK just dont really match the cost of living unless you are in a really well paid job. 

Glad you got on ok with the golf cart driving. 

We'd love to get a dog but dont really have much space at the moment. I also think it would be bullied by the 3 cats already in residence! What type of dog are you thinking about? 

Good to hear your scan went well 

Dimmu - Sounds a lot like me! 

I do think we are lucky to have our place and I do feel so sorry for everyone who is stuck in the renting trap. 

Shame about the bunnies eating your plants but the roof top terrace does sound amazing! I have brown fingers of doom and cant keep any plants alive so our little yard is looking a bit sorry for itself. 

My mum has agreed to look after our LG but it does hinge on baby arriving when she has some annual leave so fingers crossed for this one arriving on time. 

Hope your LO turns around soon.


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## eva1978

Hi all, 

hope everyone is getting on OK. How are you feeling JJay? Any improvement with the GD situation? Any flipping baby yet, dimmu? 

I didn't realize the childcare costs in the UK could be so high/private. Sounds a bit like here, though here you get a bit of a break if you are an Aussie citizen or a permanent ressie. Otherwise it's a bit insane to live here with young kids, imo! 

That's too bad about the rabbits eating all your veg, dimmu! :( they actually got into the green houses!? Major bummer. Our chooks ate/scratched away most of our strawberries, but otherwise they weren't too destructive to our veg etc. They just make a bit of a mess of the yard with their scratching. 

We have a plan now for when I go into labour/give birth :) Glad to hear you have a partial solution with your neighbour dimmu. I hope it works out with your mum, Miss B re: her leave period. A lady at my work who lives very close offered to be called any time of night if/when something happens - and she'd come over and sit the boys until morning. Then if needed she would switch with our other friend who lives a bit further into town. The other friend has childseats etc. so would be able to drive the kids to school/daycare if it applies. I'm due over the 2-week school holidays but I plan on signing my oldest up for the holiday program to make things a bit easier in anticipation of the birth. Are there any school holidays where you are that would affect things like preschool/daycare? 

The current place you live does sound hard to beat, Miss b. Walking distance to work sure is great. We have that now but anywhere else we wouldn't anymore. LOL brown fingers of doom! 
We were briefly thinking of getting something like a Pyrenees dog. Something that's a working/guard dog, and can stay outdoors, but is also family friendly. But at this point I think that idea's on hold. We haven't had any recent close encounters with losing another chicken, and with the baby coming there is no time to train a new dog. We've thought about getting an older dog (~1 year) that's mostly already trained to guard chickens... though getting a puppy would be fun :) even if a lot of work. Don't think we're ready yet though. We also travel a lot which is another problem. What kind of dog would you get at some point maybe? 

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!


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## dimmu

Good morning from a very sunny and warm London!

I'm really not used to this hot weather, it has been such a cold spring. I feel all hot and I get really sweaty underneath my bump!:blush: Well can't complain, it's nice that its finally so warm.:)

Not much has changed for me, the baby is still stubbornly stuck in her sideways position and showing no signs of moving. My plan to do a lot of walking once the weather gets better isn't working out that well, I try and walk a bit but my bump just hurts too much where the bulk of her weight is. I have my private scan booked in two weeks so if they confirm her position and there's nothing stopping her I'm gonna start doing some exercises to get her to flip.

Eva - so glad you have got something sorted for your other kids when you go into labour! DD is actually looking forward to going to our neighbours' when the baby is born, their daughter is her classmate so she's excited about the sleepover. We just have to find an alternative for that one weekend when the neighbours are busy and we should be sorted. I really hope I won't go into labour then, these neighbours are just behind the wall so doesn't get much easier, with anyone else we'd have transport etc to consider as well as we haven't got a car. 

Yes the bunnies are really destructive! It was just a cheap little plastic green house that my husband got for me so guess it was never gonna last. One of the buns is actually quite smart as far as buns go and is always up to some mischief and trying to get to places he shouldn't, he's very inquisitive and likes to explore. So think when the greenhouse appeared it was like a new exciting challenge for him!! 

Yes childcare is very expensive here in the UK, we used to pay £50 a day for DD's nursery and that was the cheapest I could find in the area, all the others were £70 per day or more. Doesn't leave you much to play with after mortgage, bills and nursery costs! This was one of the main reasons why we decided to wait until DD was at school before having another one, we just couldn't have afforded to pay for nursery fees for two kids and we both have to work to pay the bills. 

Miss B - it does really sound like you're better off staying put! Guess you can just keep an eye out for properties in case anything pops up. Are you looking to find somewhere bigger? As much as I'd like a garden and more space it's just no feasible and really don't want a bigger mortgage to pay. DD's school also just got upgraded to outstanding by ofsted so really want her to stay there as she's doing really well. 
Did you say you have another scan coming up soon? Is your baby head down by now this time?


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## minties

So much to catch up on, I don't think I've looked at this thread in forever!

I have GD and baby is scheduled to arrive at 39 weeks via c-section (July 22nd). Managing the GD fine on diet at the moment. 

Can't believe how long some of you have between midwife appointments?! That sucks so much! It's every four weeks till 28 weeks then goes to fortnightly then once a week close to the end. 

It's supposed to be winter here next month but the days are still warm and I'm sitting in bed with a fan on at 9:19pm at the moment.


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## Miss Bellum

Evening all hope you are all doing well. 

Eva - Child care cost are a bit mental round here! 

Glad you have a labour plan all sorted. School holidays dont affect LG's nursery days, so may be quite handy to go into labour on one of her days in. 

Really not sure what type of dog we would go for. I like the idea of a mongrel about medium size. OH is very keen on a German Shepherd though. Quite a while to go before we worry about it though. 

Dimmu - It has been really hot over the last few days, I've struggled too. 

Hope the flipping exercises help. 

How handy your neighbours can look after your lg - even better that she is excited about it. 

Our nursery is about the same price, not a lot going under #50 round here either. 

We did hope to get a little more space and a bit more garden but decided we dont want to increase our mortgage for not much benefit. Doesnt seem to be a lot of point to incurring moving charges and increasing our payments for not a lot of extra space. One of the other reasons we wanted to move was the number of bits & pieces left undone following the renovation of our property 2 years ago. It seems to make more sense to pay to get the last few bits sorted rather than move. 

Still waiting for the hospital to send through a scan date. I dont really know what way up bubs is at the moment but seems to be pressing heavily on my bladder a lot! 

Minties - Sorry about the GD, glad the diet is helping. Must make it a lot easier to plan having a set date for c-section. 

Wow, you do have a lot of appointments over there! Second time mums here get about 7 appointments in total I think? Doesnt seem a lot anyway. 

Glad the weather is still nice and warm.


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## eva1978

Hi everyone, 

glad you have the GD under control minties! Did you have it before with other pregnancies? Is that why you have a c-sect scheduled, or is that for another reason? 
Where abouts are you located again? Seeing a mw every 2 weeks at some stage sounds good! I've only seen mine twice so far, and I'll see her again next week (when I'll be nearly 32 weeks). Where I am in Australia with the public system there's something called 'shared care', so I alternate between my GP, the midwife, and the OB appointments, plus the scans which are separate. So in all I probably have on average 3 appointments per month with *somebody*, but scans are only every 4 weeks at this stage, unless they think things aren't progressing fine. I think normally they wouldn't even scan that much, I'm just slightly more high risk than average. In Germany by now I'd be seeing on OB (with ultrasound) every couple of weeks and getting the heart-rate measured for 30 min intervals at the appointments... different system for sure! 

Miss B - mongrels usually have less health problems than pure-breeds, so I tend to prefer those types of dogs myself, too! Growing up we had a pure bread golden retriever (when I was really young), then two mixed dogs -- both had a mixture of german shepherd. They were all nice doggies!

Nice to hear it's warming up there in the UK! It is definitely in full Fall here. Nights getting down to low single digits! But days are still nice and mostly sunny. I like it though, I remember the heat+morning sickness in the summer some months ago and it was unpleasant! 

I hope you have some luck with getting baby to flip, dimmu. Normally they do! 

50 or so pounds per day for childcare indeed is quite steep, yikes. Here we pay about 50 AUD per day, but for people who are not residents or citizens, it's 100 AUD per day... just insane. That price usually includes nappies and snacks but not lunch. 

Have a nice weekend !


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## dimmu

Good morning everyone, hope you are having a lovely weekend. 

Nice to see you here Minties. Sorry to hear about your GD, do you need to take medication for it? Wow really impressed that you have fortnightly appointments already! Here they only start at 34 weeks unless it's your first child. I'm currently on a long break from appointments, haven't had one for almost 4 weeks and the next one is only in 2.5 weeks. But I have my private scan to look forward to in one week's time, excited about that.

Miss B, Eva - DD's nursery that cost £50 a day was really the cheapest in the area, everywhere else was around £70 or more. It may not have had the nicest setting, I can see why it wouldn't appeal to everyone being located in the middle of a housing estate and the playground and other facilities were quite small, but she had such a lovely time there and the staff were all wonderful.

My baby has been incredible active over the last couple of days, she's more active than DD was anyway but seemed to go crazy yesterday and even this morning there's been lots of movement. I'm hoping it's a sign she's turning or at least trying to, I *think* my bump is slightly different shape today, the hard lump that has always been on my right is higher up and more central now. I also had some really painful sharp twinges in my privates this morning. I really hope she's turned and the big lump would be her bottom instead of shoulder, but at the same time trying not to read too much into it. I guess I'll find out in my scan next week.

Miss B I hope you get you scan date soon, they usually do the additional scans at around 34 weeks don't they? 

Sounds like you are better off staying put where you are. I'm so jealous you have had your whole place renovated, we spent most of our budget when we bought our flat so haven't really had money to spend on doing our place up, and it really needs it. Now all our savings are gonna be going towards my maternity leave as I only get the statutory pay. And of course it didn't help that we decided to take DD to meet her extended family in the Caribbean as well! Oh well, hopefully one of these days I will get a new kitchen. 

Eva are they gonna give you a date for a c-section soon anyway even if you may try and deliver naturally? Sounds like you'll be having lots more appointments from now one which is good. 

I only have 2.5 weeks left at work, can't believe it! The time was really dragging during the second trimester but seems to go really fast now. I had my 4 weeks of annual leave approved so I hope this baby won't come until I'm 38 weeks so that I can get the full pay until then! I still haven't done any preparation at all. But hopefully I'll have plenty of time in June whilst DD is at school. DH has also booked some time off then so that we can go and shop for stuff during the week without having to drag DD with us. Getting excited now!!! :)


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## JJay

Hi everyone,

Our childcare costs are a little cheaper in the north. The lovely nursery that DD and DS went to is £48 a day, so not too bad and there are cheaper ones available. 

Dimmu, I have my fingers crossed that baby has turned. Mine was breech at every scan up until this Wednesday and is now head down (not that it matters for me!) so hopefully you'll find yours is nicely in position at your next scan. It will be lovely to see baby in 4D! I've only had 3D scans but I think the baby looks like my DS so am guessing another boy. The time for me is passing quickly too. I think it's all of the scans and appointments I have to have due to being high risk and also the GD. 

Eva, glad to hear you're sorted for labour plans. The cooler evenings must be nice. The warm weather here over the last week has made me realise how uncomfortable I'm going to be over the next couple of months. 

Miss B I hope LO arrives on time for you so your mum can help out. House prices are indeed crazy. Even here right up north it's difficult for first time buyers. We are currently building a new house - on the same land as our existing house and plan to knock this one down, it's a big project that we're doing slowly as cash allows but hopefully we will have a lot more equity when we've finished. 

Minties, sorry to hear you have GD too but great you can manage with diet. I am stumbling to control mine. With diet only I couldn't really get away with any carbs or sugar and I lost 4lb quite quickly so I went on metformin and yesterday started on insulin. The insulin will hopefully mean I can be more flexible with food. In fact I've just had a biscuit with my cup of tea woooo hoo! I'm finding it quite time consuming shopping and preparing food, 4-5 finger blood tests daily, 2 lots of tablets, 2 shots of insulin, having to eat regular meals at more or less the same times, constantly having my phone on timer for the next meal, snack or test. Having to carry food and Emergancy jelly babies everywhere with my testing kit - it's like a full time job managing it! I've also been at appointments at least twice a week. As I'm now on insulin they've told me I will have to have a planned section in my 38th week and will be booked in on either the 6th or 8th July depending on the consultants rota so LOs birthday will be one of those dates! Very exciting and I'm starting to count down - 7 and a bit weeks away!

I haven't been around much as I've been at constant appointments while also being crazy at work. I've been worrying how I'll cope with my job and three children so decided to look into selling my company and its all gone through this week! It's not a fortune but enough to cover a couple of years salary so I can take some time off and then look for something new to do in a year or so. I'm handing over for the next 3-4 weeks then that will be it. I haven't had a chance to organise any baby stuff so as soon as I'm finished work I'll be on a washing, tidying, organising mission! 

Good news is that baby has been fine at all scans, here is the latest pic from this Wednesday. Although I've struggled to control my blood sugars baby has dropped from 90th+ centile on AC to 75th, 50th for head and 80th for leg length. Estimated weight was 3lb11 so they were quite happy with that. The diet means I've only gained 24lb which I'm quite pleased with as I gained around 70lb with DD! 

What do you think boy or girl?!
 



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## JJay

Ps I've been meaning to ask if anyone's on Facebook? It would be nice to see birth announcements and keep in contact after the births. I'm fb friends with my babyandbump groups from DD and DS and its lovely to see pics of them growing up X


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## Miss Bellum

Eva - Its funny how different all the healthcare is in different countries. 

Glad the weather is still nice there. We have had some pretty horrible rain but seems to be getting better now. 

Dimmu - Fingers crossed your lo turns soon. Finally got the scan date for 8th June so not long to go now. 

I think the renovations were worth it thought it was a tough few years! Spent my first pregnancy in a cold house with no heating or hot water and when lo was born we didnt even have the kitchen in. First few months I had to be up and out by 8ish as that was when builders would start. Never again!

Trip to the Caribbean sounds fantastic. Not long to go at work! 

Jjay - Sounds like an even bigger project than ours! Best of luck with the building. 

Good news on your company sale, hope you can take things a bit easier now. 

Great news on the scan, always good to get the reassurance all is well. No idea on the gender I'm afraid I am rubbish at guessing. 

I am on FB and still friends with B&B friends from first baby. It got set up after most of us gave birth so when it was only the regular posters. I know the July Sparklers thread set up a group but I haven't joined it yet. If any ladies from this thread think its a good idea, we could maybe set up a small group?


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## dimmu

Hello, hope you are all well today. 

Jjay - glad to hear that the baby is doing well despite the GD. It sounds like such hard work! :( But it must be nice to know when exactly your LO will be born, makes planning everything so much easier. 

That's amazing about your company as well, hope it all goes smoothly. Will be nice to be able to focus on your kids and forget about work for a while without having to worry about money. I'm still a bit concerned how we'll cope when I'll start getting just my statutory but have managed to save quite a bit, so hopefully we'll be ok. Just no new clothes for me for a year I guess!! :) 

Miss B - nice to hear that you have your scan date now. Hopefully the first few months with the baby will be easier this time with no builders around every day! 

I've found the last few days quite hard. I've got heartburn, my back hurts so much and it still hurts to walk. But worst of all the horrid piles came back with a vengeance and the last couple of days have been complete agony, I never had them this bad when I was pregnant with DD. :( Got some cream from the GP now so really hope it helps, have barely been able to sleep the last couple of night because of the pain.:cry: I really hope the fact that it suddenly got so bad is a sign that the LO has turned and is pushing down on my pelvis however I'm not convinced as I still feel movement on both sides of my belly button simultaneously. Maybe the baby is doing the splits or something! :haha:
I will find out on Saturday when I have my private scan, really looking forward to it. Hopefully we will get to have a good look at the baby.

I did the labour ward tour last week and I think I'm tempted to try and deliver without epidural in the birth centre after all. The birth centre and the labour ward are right next to one another so if anyone goes wrong it's just a quick transfer to the ward. Some things have changed since I was last pregnant, I was quite surprised that they now let the dad stay in the ward overnight as well after the baby is born. That was not an option when I had DD and the first night alone with her in a room with four other women and their babies was quite a stressful experience. Mind you if I get to deliver naturally which I really hope will happen they may discharge you the same day depending what time of the day it is. 

I'm on facebook but not really a keen user, don't think I've posted anything this year! Maybe that will change though once I start my maternity leave.. :) 
I would love to stay in touch though and that probably is the best way? I haven't joined the July sparklers group, don't think I'd be happy to discuss things like hemorrhoids with a large group of people using my real name. :haha: But I'd be happy to join a small group if ladies' from this thread are up for it? 
I have no idea how to start a facebook group though :blush: but hopefully there's someone else more knowledgeable around.


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## Miss Bellum

Dimmu - Ouch those piles sound very painful! Hope the cream helps them clear soon. 

Your hospital set up sounds very much like ours, the midwife led bit is a few floors from the standard labor ward. Its nice to have a more natural alternative but with the reassurance of having doctors on hand if needed. Its great they let your OH stay the night too. Wish ours would. I am also keeping my fingers crossed not to be struck on the ward for long this time. 

I haven't tried to set up a fb group before but it looks quite straight forward. I'd be happier to stick with a smaller group too.

If anyone would like to pm me their face book details I am happy to try and set up a group for us.


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## MeganS0326

Hi ladies!

Jjay - Sorry about finding out you have GD this time. That diet sounds awful! Pregnant ladies should be allowed to eat whatever they please!! I'm also sorry that they gave you a no to fixing your tummy issues. Bummer!! Glad you were able to sell your company for a tidy profit. Running a business and chasing around after 3 little ones seems like a huge undertaking so I don't blame you for wanting to take a break. Your little one is so cute in that scan pic!! I'm guessing boy!

dimmu - I hope the changes you have been feeling are related to baby changing position! So sorry about the piles, that sounds awful. I have a pretty mild case of them nearly all the time but nothing that interferes with my daily life thank goodness. Hopefully the cream you were given clears them right up!!

minties - Welcome back. Sorry about having GD. I have my glucose test at my next appointment and am hoping I get the all clear. I'm a big baby when it comes to needles so pricking my finger on a daily basis sounds like some kind of evil torture.

MissBellum - Thank you for so kindly offering to set us up with a little FB group. (and thanks JJay for the suggestion) I love the idea. I have a feeling that since you ladies are all quite a bit ahead of me that this thread will die off before my little one comes along and that makes me sad. I feel like I know all of you so well. It would be nice to stay in touch! I will message you my details shortly!!!

AFM, today makes 12 days that I have had the worst sinus infection of my life. I have been pretty much out of commission and house bound the whole time and I'm starting to lose my mind. I also have pink eye in both my eyes. I feel like it has just been one thing after another this pregnancy. Hopefully the last half will be uneventful. Baby is starting to kick super hard, so that has been fun. DH has felt a few of them and I've even seen a few from the outside. Kicks are my favorite part of being pregnant!!


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## dimmu

Miss Bellum said:


> Dimmu - Ouch those piles sound very painful! Hope the cream helps them clear soon.
> 
> Your hospital set up sounds very much like ours, the midwife led bit is a few floors from the standard labor ward. Its nice to have a more natural alternative but with the reassurance of having doctors on hand if needed. Its great they let your OH stay the night too. Wish ours would. I am also keeping my fingers crossed not to be struck on the ward for long this time.
> 
> I haven't tried to set up a fb group before but it looks quite straight forward. I'd be happier to stick with a smaller group too.
> 
> If anyone would like to pm me their face book details I am happy to try and set up a group for us.

Thanks for volunteering to set up the group, I'd love to join. I will pm you my details over the weekend.

Have my wellbeing scan tomorrow, very excited!!:)


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## eva1978

Hello ladies! 

Great idea re: facebook group/staying in touch. Miss B I will also pm you my details! I go on facebook quite a lot  

Work here has been extra busy since I had a collaborator visiting me and I'm trying to get a paper submitted before baby arrives. I have another job application to prepare for, but haven't started. Starting to worry a bit about that now, but there's still time. Assuming baby doesn't arrive super early! 

Good luck at your scan dimmu! I hope the baby has flipped the right way 'round. The piles sound dreadful :-( this is the time when expecting mamas are supposed to be able to get some rest! I hope the cream works for you and the pain subsides soon! 
I suppose your leave starts very soon! Less than 2 weeks no? 

I saw my midwife this past week and she said I could discuss setting a potential c-section date the next time I see an OB (early June). Since I'm a bit worried about vaccinations (we are set to fly overseas once the baby is around 6 weeks old), I might schedule one for July 15. That way baby can have vaccinations before we fly. We'll be overseas for a month so I feel more comfortable doing that. However, I did get the whooping cough booster, which is the main thing I'm worried about bubs catching. So not sure if I really want to 'force' a c-section by the 15th if I don't have to! Even though there's a good chance I'll need one anyway. Arg... still want to go for natural birth but I'm also ok with the section if it ends up being the safest option for baby. 

I heard that in addition to nipple stimulation, eating about 6 dates per day from 36 weeks onward can help with bringing on labour. There was some study done and women who ate the dates tended to show up at the hospital slightly more dilated and required less intervention. I think I need to find some date fruit! 

Cute scan pic JJay! I have no idea about guessing the sex. If you think the baby looks like DS then maybe it is a boy? I feel like this baby looks like DS2, so yet another reason why I think boy. Also most people I meet say "I think you're having a boy" :) Do you get that too? 

That's exciting you are building a new house on your property! 
The GD indeed seems like a full time job just to keep up with all the monitoring. Congrats on the weight gain though - sounds like you are managing really well! How cool to have a c-section (almost) date planned! :) 
Congrats on selling your company! Good timing! Glad that worked out in time for third baby's arrival. 

Miss b - wow first pregnancy with no heat or hot water... yikes! Sounds rough. 
Thanks for offering to set up a group - I will send you my info. 

Sorry about your sinus infection AND pink eye, Megan! That sucks. Sometimes those eye infections take ages to go away completely (in my experience). Have you had/considered surgery for your sinuses? Some people say it's a waste of time/money (I have no opinion). My husband had terrible sinus trouble and eventually had surgery, which helped a bit but not a significant improvement. Good luck - hope it clears up soon on its own.


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## Miss Bellum

Think I have now successfully managed to set up a fb group. 

Sorry to hear you've been ill Megan sounds rough hope you feel better soon. I love feeling the kicks too, makes it seem a bit more real. 

Good luck for your scan tomorrow Dimmu x

Eva - work does sound hectic. Seems really strange to hear about booking for c-sections, its come round so fast! Interesting about the dates thing. Not something I needed to worry about first time but could be different this time! 

Definitely enjoying having a habitable house this time round.


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## JJay

Miss B I've PMed you re Facebook too - thank you for setting the group up!

No heating or kitchen for your first pregnancy sounds tough! I'm usually quite laid back but when it gets close to delivery I'm crazy nesting lady and everything has to be organised and Spring cleaned!

I'm finishing handover at work next week then it's half term and after that it's project baby stuff, hospital bag and Spring clean!

Dimmu, I've been thinking about you today - I hope your scan went well and that baby is in a good position. 

So sorry you're having a hard time with piles and heartburn :( I have started to feel pretty heavily pregnant now and am getting out of breath and a sore back if I spend too much time on my feet. 

Eva, sorry you're having such a busy time at work - not ideal when you should be able to relax a bit before baby arrives. I think baby looks like a boy on my scan pic but I also thought boy with DD and DS so I've been right 50% of the time! I'm getting guesses for both from people so really feel like it's 50/50! We need to start thinking seriously about names as haven't really settled on anything yet. I hadn't heard about the date thing - I tried everything else with DD and DS but they both stayed stubbornly put until 42 weeks - it will be strange having this one 3+ weeks earlier than that!

Megan, I hope you're feeling better. It's rubbish being ill when pregnant and not allowed to take drugs. I will have my fingers crossed for you the GD test comes back clear. I am feeling better since I started taking insulin and although I'm not going crazy it's nice to be able to eat biscuits and desserts again! It's lovely feeling the strong kicks! DD has felt kicks and hiccups a couple of times and thinks it's hilarious! 

I'm off to bed now - feeling tired this weekend as it was DDs 5th birthday on Friday so we've been celebrating that and also have the inlaws to stay. Night night :)


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## dimmu

Good morning everyone, hope you've been having a lovely weekend.

We had our scan yesterday and the baby looks perfect! And it turns I was right about the twinges I've been feeling down there and the sudden horrid hemorrhoid situation, she's head down!!:happydance: So obviously that's why the hemorrhoid situation suddenly got so bad, it's the extra weight in there as I haven't been constipated. She did her best to leave me guessing though as I could still feel movements on my sides simultaneously, the little monkey is head down but sideways, so her back and bum is on my left and she keeps kicking my right and that's why I still feel her on both sides. But as long as she's head down that's the main thing, hopefully I have another natural delivery on its way. 
We didn't get a very good glimpse of the baby as she had her hands in front of her face, but from what we could see she looks like a mix of DD and DH, nothing like me at all. :)
The cream has thankfully vastly improved the piles situation. It's not healed them completely but it no longer feels like being continuously stabbed in the bum with a hot knife and I've been able to sleep again at night. 
So I'm certainly a lot happier than I was earlier this week, and it does also help that I only have seven working days left!:happydance:

Megan- I hope you are feeling better, sounds like you've been having a rough time as well. It's wonderful when you start feeling the kicks, I always love that even when they hurt!

Eva- sorry to hear your work is still so hectic, hopefully things will get better soon. I would probably book the C section as I also wouldn't want to fly with an unvaccinated baby. Planes are such breeding grounds for all sorts, I had chicken pox ten years ago and I'm convinced I caught it from flying. I flew within Europe about a week before my symptoms started and I had definitely not been around anyone with chickenpox otherwise. 

Miss B- hope you are doing well. Will be nice to be able to catch up on that facebook group as well in the future. :)

Jjay - Hope your DD had a lovely birthday! Did you have a big party or just with family? Until now we've only done a small party in our home for DD on her birthdays but she's already saying she wants a bigger one next time. I'm with you about the baby stuff, hospital bag etc. Just looking forward to finishing work so that I can give our flat a deep clean and start buying and preparing things, haven't done anything yet. I'm gonna try anything I can from 38 weeks onwards to encourage the labour, and will also start drinking some rasberry leaf tea soon. 
Can't believe how quickly it's gone and we are already discussing delivery!


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