Rats Successfully Smacked, the 'No Brookers' uneventful pregnancy and pain free birth thread :)

[MeconiumHappens]

Hello :)

Oh and Ninja Yes! The cramps are The. Same. Aren't they!

why thank you dream

scarlet your last paragraph rings completely true for me also. I also had What to Expect in the first year and thought it was v. good.

Welcome to the other side Ninja. It's lovely to see you in here.

Just think Ninja, 5 hours ago you were just parpy! How much can change!

I still have my pee stick next to me on the sofa (cap on of course). I keep having to check it has 2 lines instead of one.

I collected all my tests on the bathroom windowsill, in day order, for ages until we had visitors and I had to hide the evidence!

i was considering taking it to bed with me tonight seeing as dp isn't here. But that is a bit odd isn't it?

Nah, perfectly natural!

In fact I still have 4 unused CBDs on my chest of drawers because I don't know what to do with them... Trying to think of a way to give them to a ttc friend without it seeming odd?

i don't actually have any other tests so whilst i am tempted to go and buy some i think i will try to refrain. I shall just clutch my 2 lines to my bosom and rock backwards and forwards till dp is home on Thursday. Have you told your ds yet?

Wow, Ninja, congratulations! :D SO happy for you! I've been avoiding MN all evening due to trying to get work done that I should have done last week, so have missed all the excitement!

dream, you will be fine. Everything will fall into place re the three DCs! Also, good luck for your first day back at work - will be brooking that everything's fine, from the general back to work ness to the lack of vomming!

Scream, thanks for asking the book question - I've been meaning to for a little while! Feeling similarly baffled by the whole thing. While I'm hoping instinct will kick in and all will be ok, I'm sure a good book will help :)

Ninja we told him after the 12 week scan, and he's been really good about it, and asks lots of entertaining questions about it all! 'Can you get the baby out on your own?' being a favourite.....

When do you think you'll tell yours Ninja?

Did you get much MS with your DS?

I had one morning of feeling really sick and that was after going out for a v posh meal the weekend we told dp's folks. Other than that my only other symptom was gagging when brushing my teeth. I was extremely lucky i think, although i got signed off work due to stress at about 7 months for a week as we had taken on a new client at work, me and dp had moved house and on top of being pg it was just too much.

Ooh ooh, Ninja you asked if it could be your turn next and mother nature obliged!

Have already said congratulations to Ninja, but will say it again! Take it to bed with you, it's fine!

Re: books, I really like Gina Ford. I don't think she is that militant at all and that there is plenty of scope for adjusting things to you and your baby. I appreciated having a basic structure to work to, which helped me anticipate his needs. I suppose it helped me to be proactive rather than reactive.

My SIL, however, used her like it was the Bible and wouldn't do anything out with the plan and is incredibly rigid. She is more Gina than Gina!

I found the NCSS helpful too for ideas and encouragement. I thought I would like the Baby Whisperer but didn't like the Eat/Activity/Sleep thing. I wanted to take advantage of BF-induced sleepiness all round!

Have a look at all the books (they'll all be in the library), and pick the bits you like the best or the bits that work for you and DC at that point in time. You don't need to choose between Gina Ford and attachment parenting. I've ended up with sling-wearing, Gina routines, still BFing at 15mo etc.

Fingers crossed its a smooth vom free time this time then too

I think Dream and Bartlett have had sickness enough for all of us, so the rest of us should be fine!

Although, of course I do feel v v sorry for the sicky people

Yes Scream I'd agree with Bartlett - take yourself off to the library, or Smiths, and have a browse for a while at them all.

Yay! Welcome to Ninja! So good to have you join us!

Thank you so so much to everyone who's posted about books! A lot of what you've said makes perfect sense to me. I've already found I hate the pg books which tell you what to do, and I much prefer the ones that just tell you what to expect re stages etc, with a few suggestions. I will definitely have a browse through all the books you've mentioned, esp Dream's week-by-week suggestion. My fav pg book is called "Your pg week-by-week" so I'm hoping this might be the follow-on! I also have the "What to expect" pg book, but I find it's question & answer format really frustrating. Is the first year book written in the same style? Will be heading to a nice big bookstore this weekend to pick out a baby book (or 2!). Thanks again for all the responses!

Night night ladies!

Oooooo Ninja once you've worked out your due date you need to get yourself on the stats thread pronto! (Sorry I'm on my phone so can't post a link).

Also, Jaggy's due date needs updating as well I think.

So exciting! We've just had so much good news today! I'm still so incredibly happy that Too's results were so good! Plus Wants' nephew being born. It's been a GREAT day!!

Hello! I made it to London on the train and back again and I think I have nearly caught up with the thread! DD did indeed have hand, foot and mouth but the NHS 24 lady agreed with you and said no need to quarentine so we went and had a lovely time with my sis instead. Luckily DD didn't seem particularly bothered with it and we weren't around any other children. And she was an absolute star on the train. Even had a nap so I could read my book!

Congratulations to everybody who had their scans last week- it was lovely to catch up with all the good news.

Hello to all the newly confirmed pregnant people! May you have an uneventful and peaceful 36ish weeks ahead of you.

Too I am so glad to hear the results are all good. Now you can rest up happily. I hope you are resting up. Are you going to find out the gender when you get the full results?

Did I see some PhD chat? I just handed my thesis in a couple of weeks ago. Mine is in social sciences. I am now anxiously awaiting my viva date. I am secretly hoping a bump might get me a sympathy vote .

Scream, I can recommend Dream's book recommendation. My baby week by week was uncannily accurate for DD and also gave some good suggestions. I particularly liked the advice to sit down in the early evening and catch up with soaps during the first few weeks' feeding marathons- took any traces of guilt at not being able to get stuff done!

And congratulations to Wants sister! Does this count as our thread's first baby?!

yay too and ninja, what lovely news to come on and read!

scream i will be a good girl and update my stats if i can peel DH away from our shiny new pc. (i want a go)

forgot to say i will be away for a few days from Friday, I'll have millions to catch up! you may remember the Wedding Abroad which was the Worst Possible Timing? well it's sneaked up on me so am now flapping to get ready!

will miss you all lots. DH thinks i am odd for telling him about tonight's thread good news.

Ninja!! What amazing news!! Yay!!
What a great day we had on these brooking threads. They are so amazing.
Do you think aubers ever lurks to see if we're all still going?
I have my 20 week scan on Friday and am very excited!

Is anyone else planning to find out gender at all?

Yay, congratulations Ninja! Welcome, pull up a bucket!

Thank you for the book suggestions, everyone. I shall invest in Your Baby Week By Week, I think - Gina Ford sounds too scary for me. I also bought Babies, the MN Guide but can't yet comment on how helpful it is. It seems to jump over wide swathes of time - it talks about the immediate post-partum time, establishing breastfeeding, sleeping and then hops on to weaning and teething and things. I would like something that tells me what Bean is developing at any given time.

Fishcake, I am definitely finding out the gender! I wanted to do that anyway at the 20 week scan, so it will just be a little earlier. My whole family is convinced it's a boy. I have started saying 'he' in the last few days too, so it will be a (lovely) surprise if it's a girl. Glad to hear DD was angelic on the train, and congrats on finishing your thesis!

Lovely to see you over here ninja

I have a little selection of tests on my bedside cabinet. DH thinks I'm weird but I'm just ignoring him. I'm only 9 weeks so they haven't been there that long.