We will brook no argument for a boring, uneventful, blooming pregnancy; followed by a perfectly-timed pain-free sneeze birth; vol 5

[ScreamIfYouWantToMeetSanta]

Hi No Brookers! I do hope this has worked and is in the right place...

I've added a few extra sofas so we have plenty of space for all the Rat Smackers who will be joining us soon. There's also a nice long table filled with mince pies, yule logs, gingerbread snowmen and xmas puds! Plus some non-alcoholic mulled wine. I've strategically positioned a few clean glittery vom buckets under the table, just in case it's still a bit too early for xmas munchies for some people!

As you were...

Thanks for popping by hawthers, you must be hectic atm. 6 hours - that's amazing at his tiny age. I hope he keeps it up x

dream I reckon that after a few months with the twins using the 3 seat buggy, your dd will probably start wanting to walk everywhere and your dh will see the sense of getting the double.

I had a bit of a panic yesterday afternoon when I had the tiniest bit of spotting. It really was tiny though, only when I wiped. Then nothing else, apart from one little bit the same this morning. I'm trying to put it out of my mind, but I am desperate for my scan now.

Looking forward to your scan news jen

Good luck, Jen - hope all goes swimmingly today.

Little, Brooking for a scan soon! Spotting is scary but nothing to worry about, really. I had brown spotting in the first 12 weeks on and off and it meant nothing. Musical had a really hard time with bleeding and her bean is dancing like a good 'un now.

Hawthers, how marvellous to hear from you! Glad baby Farley is doing well and sleeping so considerately. Hope you're feeling ok after the op - echoing Pomme on the yelling for mum front!

Have forgotten everything else I meant to say - sorry!

Hi everyone, I am having a really lazy day today! I went into work this morning to prepare for the new term and had done everything I wanted to by 11 so have just been pottering. I was hoping my nappies would have arrived today but nothing yet!
Good luck with scan today Jen and try not to worry little spotting is fairly common. (easier said than done, I know!)

Dream I have to say your DH attitude of it being his cash is awful! I hope I am just having a hormonal moment and it isn't as bad as I have taken it... As I see it, you are choosing to stay at home and look after his children as it makes the most sense for the whole family, making personal sacrifices and he begrudges a double pushchair because it is HIS cash?! Not as if you are wanting a bloody Bugaboo Donkey ffs!

Glad to hear about everyone enjoying last days with their DH, I am missing him today, was his first day back. Dd was giving him lots of cuddles this morning and saying she wanted to go to work to. Bless her!

Little try and take it easy, I hope you get a scan soon it is so worrying :(

Hawthers are you a bf person? If so how are you finding it? Thanks for finding the time to post, is DS a confirmed Farley now? I hope you get the help you need to, don't be afraid to ask for it either. (Something I know I will find hard doing!) :)

Sorry if I have missed anyone, but I am a bit of a ditz at the moment!

Have to say I agree with Purple re Dream's DH's attitude to money. For men with SAHWs who look after their children, basically without their wife they wouldn't be able to go into work at all. Therefore having the wife at home contributes as much to the family finances as the husband going out to work does. In essence in any house with a stay-at-home partner I think the working spouse's earnings should be considered entirely joint. That's just my opinion though. Of course that's part of the reason why I don't want my DH to be a SAHD even though he earns so much less than me

Little I really hope you get your scan very soon and it puts your mind at rest. Bleeding at any stage is scary, even if it's only a little, but we've had so many No Brookers come through light (or even heavy!) bleeding with absolutely fine beans. I understand it's really quite common, and your LO will be totally fine!

Yay for a visit from Hawthers! Glad all is going well. When you say 6 hours sleep last night do you mean in total, or all in one stretch? Between Dream's DD sleeping 7-7 at 10 weeks, and little Farley potentially having slept 6 hours straight in his FIRST WEEK I think I could be developing unrealistic expectations of my own LO...!

Today's been hideous in terms of my sciatica/SPD, but somehow I managed to scrap through my exam anyway - which is a relief! I'm soooooooooooo glad it's passed and there are no more left! Yay! This is the final part of the exams I started back in Sept, and I had to postpone this one originally because my sciatica flared up after the first two exams, so it seemed ironic that I'd managed to postpone it to a time when I have to deal with not only sciatica but SPD as well! Couldn't exactly postpone it twice though! I'm off to my physio appointment shortly, and might discuss the possibility of being signed off with her. I just can't see how I'm going to function with any semblance of normalcy at work. My Mum saw me hobbling around on Sunday and she's really pushing for me to get signed off before I can't walk at all. She has a point...

Hope everyone else has had good days?

Oooooo meant to say, I've booked another gender scan for Friday This really will be my final private scan! If they say girl at this one I'm going to try to really accept and believe it! If they say boy I think that's pretty much a done deal, it's quite rare for a sonographer to think it looks like a boy and it turns out to be a girl I think - for obvious reasons!

I imagine Jen's already had her scan if it was today? In which case I very much hope it went well! Also thinking of Too and your scan on Thurs.

Glad to hear that Farley is able to do some long sleeps Hawthers

Scan went well. They confirmed the anterior placenta so that explains why I haven't even had any flutters yet. All is looking normal, slightly smaller than average head and longer than average legs.

purple, he's just very scrooge-like cautious with money, and as I generally move money from one joint savings account to mine to buy bigger items I can't do it without his approval... He just thinks its a case of one or the other needed, so says if I want the city mini double its a waste to have the monster buggy... Think he's feeling the stress of being the breadwinner. To improve the practice theyre looking at a scheme that will see him take a huge salary cut that will equate to £1000 a month less salary for him for at least 3 years, but obviously our morgage, and the crippling medical insurance we pay for him (well over £5000 a year) etc stay the same, plus we have a business loan when he had to buy in to the practice, plus we're most likely losing my income... It's all got him understandably twitchy about money. He's a bit funny about money anyway though!!! Spends on stupid things (like we have a second tv we don't need, only redeeming feature is he bought it a week before we found out its twins) and begrudges my buggy!

Rant over.

How lovely he's doing so well hawthers, newborn sleep... Or lack of... I remember! Yes, any tips for the older child appreciated. It's what I'm most worried about too.

Hey all....room for one more preggo? got my BFP today, still in shock as this is DC2, and just like DS1, we have got pregnant first month of trying, and was all prepared for a longer period of trying this time!

Welcome Loooopy, there is always room for more here. Help yourself to a glittery vom bucket, we have quite a range of colours available.

Hi Loopy! Welcome :)

Dream obviously I have no idea on your financial situations/implications but they are about £300? I am sure if you could put a little aside each month you could get the sum fairly quickly? Or clear out unwanted items and sell on ebay .etc
Personally speaking I think you definitely deserve/need it, it is something very simple and relatively inexpensive for something that could quite feasibly improve your daily existence.
Why does he need private medical insurance, is it a random stipulation on being a GP?

Scream you really need to get that seen to! Physio/chiropractor should help, I am glad you managed your exam ok though.

Jen glad your scan went well! Should we run stats on who has anterior placentas too? It is very interesting!

Massive congratulations to you Loooopy and welcome. Have you worked out your due date yet?

Great that your scan went well Jen and that anterior placenta was confirmed as the reason for not feeling any movement yet. My LO also has longer than average legs, just like my DS.

Lovely to hear from you Hawthers. So pleased everything's going well and your DS1 is mostly behaving well. This has been concerning me a bit the last couple of weeks. I guess it's normal to expect a few "moments" when they're experiencing such a massive change. 6 hours sleep sounds bliss. I could do with that!

Scream I reckon you getting signed off will be a huge weight of your shoulders. Really you can only struggle on for so long, give yourself a break. You're only pregnant with your first DC once, it's a whole different ball game second time round so make the most of it and indulge yourself in a bit of bedrest and daytime tv. I'm sure your scan on Friday will confirm your LO is a DD, but how lovely anyway that you'll get to see her again.

dream I hope you get your pushchair disagreement resolved soon. If you're going to agree to become a SAHM, I think it's important you discuss beforehand how financial decisons will be made. I made it clear to my DH that I would not be a 1950's housewife asking permission to buy something if I thought it was something that was a necessity rather than a luxury. If I felt he didn't value my contribution as a SAHM I would have insisted on returning to work and bugger the consequences financially, just on principle. Only my opinion and I'm not suggesting that your DH will not value you when you become a SAHM, just wanted to point out it might be something you need to talk about before you make any final decisions about returning to work. My DH every now slips and refers to our income as being "his money" if we're quibbling about things being tight, but I soon set him straight

Will be thinking of you having your scan tomorrow musical. Make sure you update us as soon as you get chance.

looopy You're here, yay!! Congratulations. Hope the rest of the ttc brookers will be on their way soon...

Great scan news jen.

scream, well done for getting through your exam. I did an exam when pregnant with dd and having spd. It's not fun is it! Such a relief when done though.

No more spotting, but no sign of any appointment letters either. I might check the surgery has sent my referral when I go there for my flu jab tomorrow.

Sorry Little I meant to ask in my last post if the spotting had stopped. As others have said already, it seems to be quite common (but obviously worrying when it happens to you). How many weeks are you now?

thanks jenfraggle hoping i won't be needing a vom bucket as pretty much escaped morning sickness with DS, but a glittery one would sit nicely next to my tree which still hasn't been taken down so will keep it anyhow

hi little. good to be here, albeit in complete shock still!

scarlet well i think there will be a dispute about due date. last period started way back on 28th Nov, so today was C37. According to FF, my due date will be 5th Sept, but not a clue if this will be right as it thought i ovulated CD17, then it said i hadn't ovulated, then it said i ovulated CD33 and then it finally decided i ovulated CD17 again. CB digital says 1-2 weeks, which doesn't really tie in with CD17 ov, but might use the remaining CB test in a few days to see if it moves to 2-3 weeks...and had been getting BFN's until this afternoon - even got a BFN on an internet cheapie this morning with FMU! but BFP on first response as well as BFP on CB digital so i believe it. Guess will have to see what date they put when we go for a 12 week scan, assuming that it's a sticky bean.

waves to dream long time no speak!! i just read back slightly and saw your discussions re buggies. Have you considered that you might have to have a CS with the twins, and if so, the monster buggy might be too cumbersome for you to cope with? would this swing it with your DH, with him being a doctor and all?? and how have you got on with BF DD whilst being pregnant. I'm still feeding DS at bedtime and not sure what to do for the best for him, me, and especially DC2.

Thanks scarlet, I'm 9 weeks tomorrow

Little, I hope you're feeling ok about the bleeding. Too's right - I had a lot, and all has seemed ok since, though it did drive me rather batty. Brooking for a scan soon for you :)

Scream, congrats for successfully getting through the exam! I hope you do get signed off - it's really not worth struggling through with all the pain. Ooo, scan Friday, how exciting!

Jen, congrats on a great scan! Was sure it had to be an anterior placenta. Fingers crossed you feel some movement soon.

Dream, I hope DH comes round to your way of thinking about the city mini double. I know what you mean about overly cautious about money - I'm very much like that myself, but still... I manage DH and I's money, and am quite strict about what we spend when, but we've both said that we'll spend what's needed on things for the LO - although we'll research each and every item to try and get things that'll last, that are good value for money etc. As Purple said, it's not as if you're buying the most expensive things and for no reason at all - you've got a genuine reason! I hope he comes round..

Lovely to hear from you Hawthers! I hope Farley's doing wonderfully - very impressed with his sleeping!

Looopy, welcome! And congratulations!

Scarlet, thanks for the thinking :) My scan's at 2pm - strange, as I swear I booked it for 8.30am . I have a call at 4pm, so if all's running to time scan-wise, and going well, I should be able to update you before then - we'll see though...

Ooo the LO just did something bizarre - was trying to see if I could feel its kicks, and suddenly realised that there was a hard lump at the front of my bump - it clearly had its back to my stomach, and I could feel its shape! So bizarre! Even better was that DH could too, even though he's not felt any kicks yet :)

Wow Little that seems to have gone quick. Only 3 ish weeks until your first scan then. Is it already common knowledge or are you looking forward to making a big announcement after the scan?

Not common kjnowledge yet scarlet, only our parents and my brother know. Waiting until the scan to tell everyone else. Because I'm a bit of a stress-head, so can't cope with people getting excited around me until then.

Oh and good luck for tomorrow musical, your lo sounds so active for 20 weeks!

True purple, its not a huge amount of money for the other buggy and i think it will be so useful. thats why I'm trying to talk him round!! All GPs count as self-employed if they're a partner in a practice, and every doctor must be insured in case something goes tits up. Hospital doctors have their insurance paid by the hospital as part of their contract automatically. Gps it depends on the practice- as Dh isn't in a high-earning practice they all pay their own insurance out of their salaries, but it is one of our biggest outgoings every month. I totally agree on the comments re: sahm and if i thought I'd get berated for my spending I'd be really put off- one of the reasons I'm worried about it! We don't agree- for example we're trading in my mini for a people carrier and Dh says well,I'm buying it, it should be my name on the certificate of ownership- Wtf?! How he figured that out I don't know, my mini is almost half the trade in value of the car, plus he has the focus, its easiest to swop over my insurance and just so unfair that he wafts the credit card (I obviously don't have a card with sufficient credit limit or I'd bloody do it!) and owns both our cars because its 'his' money...

scream, very exciting about the scan on Friday! I too am still sure you're having a girl!! I asked the sonographer about whether boys are more definite if seen o scan but she said you can still get it wrong- mine were rechecked at my last scan- still 2 boys!! I think they're right more than they're wrong. What a shame about all your pain. i agree, make the most of being able to rest, its impossible for a second pregnancy!! And don't have twins- way more pain I'm finding!!!

Great news about your scan Jen, clearly we're all as good at diagnosing an anterior placenta as any sonographer

Hello looopy, massive congratulations, I bet youre delighted! So up the duff after your first af post bf or am I confused?!

Can't remember the rest, on phone on landing embroiled in bedtime battle as usual...

Dream feeling the hormones myself, (as DH will definitely attest) but there is nothing diplomatic I can say about that! That car should be yours you have every right to be furious and his attitude!! Especially if I remember how mean he was to you when you were worried about the babies. :(

Good luck with your scan Music and extra brooking for Little and our newest bean looopy

oh rubbish, that took me so long I missed about a million posts....

hello looopy, I fed DD morning and night til about 14 weeks pg, then cut the night time feed as I didn't want her to be dependent on it, then cut the morning feed at just over 16 weeks as it was seriously painful for me to feed her by then!!! I know some people are fine bf throughout their pg, but I wasn't- it felt like the toe-curling first week of bf aagain every time, I was dreading it. But she was ill, so I persevered another few weeks longer than I really wanted to. She didn't seem to miss it when I stopped but I was . I also didn't want her to be feeding at all when the twins arrived- I think I would definitely not be able to cope with feeding three, so I wanted her to have forgotten all about it by the birth (which I am in ttal denial about I've decided!!! I even checked with my insurance company to see if they had a set time I couldn't drive for or if it depended on me if I did have a section- they said if it was ok with the doctor/mw it was fine with them so I'm busy having visions of having my CS- if I do have one- and driving again asap!!)

little, glad to hear no more spotting so far. I had some at 16 weeks with strong braxton hicks this time- of course, all fine, despite my panic. It really isn't lont til you'll get your scan, and then it'll be so lovely to be a scan- endorsed, openly pg person!!!

Hello scarlet, only a few more days before we are finally 25 weeks pg- it's not racing for me yet- is it for you?!

And happy scan for tomorrow musical, I hope you get to let us know before 4pm. I will check from work, seeing as I have a mere 7 days left hopefully (if my manager agrees- I sent her an email before I left before Christmas in a wimp-ish way saying I want to take annual leave from 26th Jan- my next scan- and straight into mat leave) which gives me a measly 7 days left at work, whoop whoop!!! Not a bad thing. I have started growing out of some of my smaller maternity clothes already, at 24 weeks... My leggings are tight, some tops are too short, we have compared some pics and I am similar to 34 weeks last time!! Getting asked when I'm due and 'Not long left' type comments already!! Struggled hauling DD around soft play today!!!

purple, while he is wonderful most of the time, he can be a stubborn, pig-headed fool at others!!!!!!! I'm cross about the car, but don't know if I'm being unreasonable- I wouldn't mind both our names on the owner certificate, I'm all up for joint as I see it as 'our' money going into the car, but apparently thats not common or maybe even possible with cars, so I don't see why it wouldn't be fair to own a car each, when I paid off my car in full myself before I even met him!!! And I am not a spender normally either. When I bought new jeans fairly recently- like 6 months ago, I realised I was replacing 10 year old ones!!!! He doesn't know how lucky he is . I agreed with him about not buying a pushchair or cot for dd before she was born. And on many other things. Fool of a man!!!

oh, and said car is going to look like a Pimp-mobile... It's a black seat alhambra with blacked out back windows Great for not blinding the children (who'll all be rear facing), not great for making me look like a wide boy driving it around. My dad thinks it's very funny, and says it could be a drug-dealers car. I pointed out it doesn't have alloy wheels and so it couldn't- no self -respecting drug dealer would drive a car without alloys, right!? (this is if it all goes through- got a deposit on this car, to look at and collect if no quibbles either side on Saturday)

Just a quick hello as I sooooo should be working but CBA.

Congrats Looopy

Glad scan ok Jen.

Glad DS doing well hawthers.

:)