We will have a serene, pain free, uneventful pregnancy and birth and will BROOK NO ARGUMENT on that.

[scarletfingernail]

New thread.

Dream, don't worry, I'm certain it's going to be difficult to have a career and children! However, in music (and in the specific fields I work in), careers tend to take off later in life. If I had waited until later to have children, I may have worked my way up further beforehand, but would have had further to fall and would have needed to invest much more time and effort to get back to on board!

Ducking out now, in comparison, means I still have some time later when my LO's older to attempt to get to where I want to be. That's the plan anyway..! I'm also happy to bumble along for a bit at the stage I'm at for a few years if need be, so we shall see what happens...

Ninja, I haven't seen The Good Life, but know where you are - my husband was a huge fan (and brings up Margo and Christmas not being delivered on a regular basis over the festive period!). What a lovely area to live in :) I used the station there a lot over my three years there!

OMG OBEM and the woman with the 'baby's head's here - baby's here!' birth. I never imagined that it could be that quick! I was quite shocked.

Work and children is the hardest thing to navigate imo. I hope to get back to two days a week again at some point. I reckon I can get to one day a week by the end of the year but how I get that second day - no idea!! I'll be working within my dad's business/dad's business partner's other business and mine and dh's business though so all much easier than the norm.

We have a mamas and papas high chair and it is very safe, very comfy and has a footrest but is a total arse to clean. I wouldn't recommend it on that basis.
Biscuits - DD still throws food on the floor as she is a stroppy madam! We have tiles so not too bad. I did have a splash mat but dh deemed it ugly and silly looking.

Hello all,

Getting emotional about this blinking routine scan in case there's something wrong as I'm very crampy and achey in my bump today (normal, I know), and am so tired I can't remember when twin 1, the 'quiet' one, last wriggled. Probably because DD went to sleep at 9pm, then was up 1-5am...then 8:15. I am actually having a complete panic now about how I will cope if the sleeping doesn't improve with her as I can barely cope with one today and seem on the brink of tears continually- and my dad has arrived to look after DD so DH and I can go to the scan and consultant appointment together, so its not even me supervising her lunch right now. I think I am just feeling exhausted. Should have gone to bed at 9 with DD, but of course was eating dinner, so went to bed at 11... not asleep with the rib pain by 12, so partly my own fault I'm so sleep deprived, need to get more organised. My dad says DD's behaviour/sleep may deteriorate if its the only way she can get attention as I'm run off my feet with the 3... though surely her sleep can't get worse than this?!

we recently changed carpet in our kitchen biscuits, was a scummy nightmare. now we have lovely Karndean I tried a splashmat but it was a pita. plus she can get some range.

now i'm wondering bout buying a tripp trapp before prices go up... how often do they come up on ebay? i'm not fussy about everything being new in the slightest

oh, and on the matress side, I do love the ventiflow- DD has been on it 14 months now and you still can't tell its been slept on. plus the waterprrof sie will be great for the potty training period if you turn it over! scream, we got our cosatto hogarth from bambino direct or something- cheapest by far. Still not in stock yet, but we're hoping for mid-feb delivery. They answer the phone fast too, and the change unit has arrived and is downstairs being used for me to change DD now- came without one hinge for a cupboard door and I rang cosatto and had correct bits in 3 days so impressed with their customer service too.

right, sandwich then scan, eeek!

Good luck for the scan Dream - you'll do great!!!

Just back from the mw - all seemed to be fine there. And she got my GTT results back for me while i was there and it isn't GD which is awesome news! Creme eggs ahoy!

Also, I asked her about our trip to my BIL in a couple of week and my mum being about it. She thought it would be totally fine. She just said take your notes, don't cross your legs in the car (which I find makes driving harder anyway ) and drink plenty. She agreed too that I should ask the consultant next time if the big baby and previous damage would make them rethink the delivery or anything.

I feel like I did awhile day's work just getting DS to swimming and back this morning . We were late so he missed the welcome song - cue total (unexpected) meltdown about getting in. And then within 2 minutes of us getting in, one little girl was sick in the pool (poor thing) so the teacher spent the rest of our lesson cleaning sick out of the pool and I then had to practically drag DS out of the pool as he was totally put out at not being able to do the song at the end either! Gah!

Hope you get to have a little bit of a rest today Dream - could you have dinner with dd so that you can get to sleep when she does tonight?

Oh, and you know how I was banging on about how impressed I was at the communication between departments at the hospital yesterday? Well I'm still impressed. They had called the mw to update her yesterday too (I was just planning to update her when I went to today's appt) and then of course she manage to just ring straight through and get those GTT results. Very good I think

I guess I could try one of those splash mats if we're eating in the dining room when it comes to weaning time. We have laminate so if I move the rug out for a while I guess it won't be too bad. I did prefer doing it in the kitchen though. Just seemed so easy to clean up. I might borrow an Ikea highchair back from my parents to use in the kitchen when DS isn't there or the baby is eating on their own?

Oh Dream your scan will be fine! I am not surprised you are worried being so sleep deprived, it just makes you feel ill in itself. I regularly go oh when did I last feel the baby panic! If I am even a bit distracted I don't notice movements. I have found that playing music get the baby moving or poking my tummy!
As for rib pain, I just have to keep turning over, then if I wake up and it is close to getting up time, I will allow myself to sleep on my back bit! Dh will also rub my back at night and this helps soo much with the ribs! Oh and don't worry about the pm as long as you got it! I did look at the carseat website, but for some reason the car list wouldn't load.

I have watched on ebay, but tbh the Tripp trapps still go for a lot of money £100ish and you don't get the 7 year warranty.
I am just not sure as it is so much money! I have the money sat there I can use but, the scrooge in me doesn't like it! I have a chicco polly, it cost me £120 and I really don't get one with it, comfy for them but so difficult to clean and massive. I didn't use the tray on it, just ad Dd at the table. I am hoping that two stokkes would fit on one end of the table. Could be being optimistic though? It would help if there were the dimensions given on website but I haven't seen any! I think I am mildly obsessed looking at that paragraph!

Biscuits I am convinced your trip would be fine! Pleased your GTT was clear, I guess you just make large babies :) Poor ds is it pulls on your heart strings when they are disappointed.

Music people will always be judgemental about your choices, especially when it comes to children. I have done things a bit back to front myself and can't really work on a career until the dc are older. I am on my third course of study since dd has been born and I hope that I can do work in the breastfeeding area, but to get paid for that you have to be very qualified and unless I work privately (which I could do after my current course)I will not make good money as it is mostly for charity.

Can't remember what else I was going to say, so will finish! :)

Purple - I can measure my Tripp trapp for you - is it the width you want?

Wow that is good communication Biscuits and fantastic that you can rule out GD. My next MW appointment is on Tuesday and I was worried that the results wouldn't be available in time, but the fact you've had yours today suggests this won't be the case. Hopefully it also means that if I had GD I would perhaps have heard something today.

I would hate anyone puking in the pool if I was in there with DS. I think I've mentioned my emetophobia before, I lose all rationality when it comes to vomiting. It's the thing I hate most about myself, and seriously the only thing I ever had any concerns about when becoming a parent. I wish I could get over it, but I've had hypnosis and it didn't work After the birth of this DC I might ask my GP about having some CBT. I know what's caused me to be this way (childhood incident, got puked on at school) I just need to learn a technique for thinking more rationally about it.

dream your scan is going to be lovely. I'm looking forward to hearing about it when you get back.

pomme I also couldn't believe how quickly that baby came out I hope the baby isn't ever shown the programme when she's older and hears her parents saying how disappointed they were that she was a girl. I know it's heavily edited, but surely there are just some things you wouldn't say in front of a tv camera regardless of the context behind it. I said to DH that although we've not found out the sex of our baby at the 20 week scan, they really should have, as they had such an obvious preference. They could also have prepared their DS then rather than the "Sorry, it's a girl" phone call after the birth
I was in bits watching Trisha's birth though, so emotional. I think DH might have even had a tear in his eye.

Purple I also have the Chicco Polly and couldn't get on with it. All the reviews on Kiddicare were raving about it when I bought mine, but DS hated it and we could never seem to make him comfortable in it. We're thinking of selling it, it's more or less in brand new condition as we gave up with it, but I wouldn't know which one to get instead. I also like the Tripp Trapps but there's no way we can justify the expense of buying one and really I'd want two anyway. Never mind.

Tripp Trapp:

Width - 46cm (mine seems to be half a cm wider at the bottom than the top, even though everything is straight edges )

Height: 78 cm

Depth: 49cm

There or thereabouts

Aw Scarlet you poor thing - it must be awful having to deal with such a phobia . What's CBT?

CBT is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It's a therapy to help people with anxiety issues. I'm not an anxious person generally, but anything sick related triggers severe anxiety in me, to the point where I can actually think myself sick. I think the therapist helps you link your past experiences with how you think about things now and the idea is that this helps you stay in control, by learning how to rationalise these thoughts.

Whether it will actually work or not is another thing, but I'm willing to try anything to be honest. The phobia has definitely got worse since I had DS, every night he goes to bed I worry if this will be the night he wakes up puking. We're lucky that it's only happened twice in his 3 years, but both times I was pretty useless and had to leave it to DH, who although understands how much it bothers me doesn't understand why I can't just snap myself out of it.

That sounds like a really good thing to try Scarlet. Especially if you know that it stems from a childhood thing. Definitely worth a go - it can't do any harm can it!

I've spent so long deciding whether to Sotheby's ironing or clean the bathrooms while DS is at pre school, that now there is no time to do either....

Oh well, I have (half) made a spinach and ricotta lasagne for tea.

mmm, recipe please for spinach and ricotta lasagne biscuits!!! sounds yum. I'm a rubbish cook though- will I manage it?!

I'm back from my scan, been offered an extended babysitting, lie down break for me by my dad but just having a quick hot chocolate first. One twin is so low in my pelvis they can't measure his head circumference. Explains the pressure and aching I've got really low in my bump. The quieter one is indeed currently facing his brother. Both cephalic now. Estimated weights 1151g and 1180g or 2lb 8oz and 2lb 10oz, so still growing well, both 50th centile babies. Hurray for that! The consultant said if I want a ELCS I can be given a date next appointment at 30 weeks for a CS at 38 weeks. Now they're both head down I'm in a dilemma, but I definitely dont want induction, so if I get to 38 weeks its a no-brainer, but spontaneous labour...don't know what to do now. Not a day for decisions anyway!

Anyway, me me me post, but will be back later.

Glad both twins are growing so well Dream. And that you've found a reason for the pain / aching.

Does cephalic mean head down? .

The spinach lasagne is spinach and Philadelphia rather than spinach and ricotta and is from the iPhone app Philadelphia recipe book. I think you could use ricotta instead of Philly, but I don't mind a bit of Philly and DS definitely loves it. I'll post it later, when not on phone.

Oh and it is super easy to cook.

Oh and Dteam, what does your DH think about the CS / VB now?

Enjoy your lie down - bless your dad for the extra baby sitting

Oh so pleased for your great scan Dream. How about you book your cs and just see how you go if you spontaneously go into labour? Why would you be induced? have I missed something?

I am wondering if my baby is dipping to my pelvis as I keep getting pressure and pain from down there, reminding me of when I was on the birth ball with dd and getting a lot of pressure on my cervix.

However, it could be due to me being a bit unwell, I went to soft play on Mon and have been a bit poorly since, just was a bit unwell in the bum department and so was Dd then I was fine in bum dept. dd has continued being fine seeming apart from bum issues still. However, I have been nauseous off my food and actually sick today! Thing is my friend and her children who I went there with are also still suffering! Apparently quite a few people have had the same thing after going to this soft play! Now I am fairly level headed with this sort of thing but it has been quite a while now and I am worrying I might have some sort of infection? The baby is moving well and I am managing fluids, but I am worried it is something that should be checked? Especially, as none of my family have caught it, which I thought they would if it was a virus or something from home? WWYD? Friends fault for wondering if it is mild ecoli which I daren't google!

Biscuits thanks for the measurements, I will get dh to do the clambering around and measuring the table!

we have a chicco polly and its fecking enormous! I want to sell it and get something wooden that would actually go with our stuff and fit at a table not have its own orbit.
Right off to read the rest of todays bits as have been out all afternoon.

for those that like the stokke but not the price what about this? Or this? or this? I also quite like this east coast one

quite like this one too

great news on the scans today ladies, and dream how nice of your dad for offering the extended babysitting.
scarlet I think cbt sounds like a great idea. DS was a puker from the word go till he was about 9 months, I couldn't have coped at all if I had anything like that. But excellent that you want to do something about it.
Not much to report here, ds is much better and spots nearly disappeared and I think (since its payday tomorrow) that I shall take him to Ikea. He keeps saying he hasn't been on a train for ages and I want to look at their fabric and maybe buy him some new bedding, plus I'm in love with their meatballs and gravy. Sounds like a plan to me!

Evening all!

Glad Dream's scan went well! That all sounds really positive, but I can understand the mixed feelings on the vb vs elcs choice! I'm sure you'll come to the right decision for you once you've had a bit of rest.

Glad Biscuits doesn't have to restrict the creme eggs as well! Congrats on passing the ultimate test!

Loving all the highchair chat, but even I can't convince myself (or DH) that there's any point in us buying one of those this far in advance! Our little house doesn't have enough space to have that kind of thing hanging around for 9 months! I do have some friends with Tripp Trapps though, and they all rave about them. Personally I can see all the advantages that people talk about, but to the untrained eye they just look so uncomfortable! Has anyone here had to add any padding to theirs, or do your DC find it perfectly comfortable directly on the wood?

I had my scan and it was good news all round. The fibroid which was causing all the problems has moved up away from my cervix, and although it's still under the placenta apparently it's buried in the wall of my womb, so there's sufficient womb-lining (technical term, ahem) between the fibroid and the placenta to prevent growth issues. It was great to have my midwife there as well because once I heard all that I completely forgot all my questions, and she kindly made sure they were all raised anyway! So it's good news and because of that the cs is now definitely off the table as far as the hospital are concerned. I'm still worried on the SPD front as to whether or not a cs would be preferable, but I'll see how it goes because if my SPD doesn't get any worse I would go for a vb. It's only if my SPD worsens as I go along that I would start thinking about fighting for a cs.

Sorry for the rambling, I'm not very coherent today for some reason! Managed to get into Kingston and do some shopping though sadly I'm paying for it now It was nice to get out for a bit though.

Oh, and the LO is still a girl and is spot on for her gestational dates please please please let me pass my GTT next week!

Just a quick one re the Tripp Trapp again. Scream, when we started with it we used the baby set and the cushions you can get to go with it. To be honest, eventually I got fed up of washing the cushions though when they got food on them , and DS has been fine ever since we got rid of them. Mind you I guess he's never know any different .

I do feel oddly proud for passing the GTT - like I've scored a point for team chocolate

Link to Spinach lasagne recipe

Thanks biscuits, have bookmarked it ready! DD loves philly so will definitely try. And spinach for iron... as I am still not taking the iron but am having a dropping iron level on blood tests I better up the red meat and dark green leafy veg etc... I'm already suffering the slowed digestion/constipation, iron would make it miles worse, but it could be why I'm feeling so tired too, even though its not horrendously low now- the bottom of 'normal' is 11.5 and mine's 11.2 now though it was 14 at 12 weeks . I doubt it though, I'd say extreme sleep deprivation and a 16 month old and a twin pregnancy is why I'm so tired!!

Speaking of which, go to bloody sleep child!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or mummy may commit infanticide.... she was not allowed extra napping for her night antics so why the hell is she not as tired as us? Poor dh is at work now, rather him than me...

I wouldn't get a high chair yet scream we got one when DD was 4 months old as we started weaning at 5 months- she was using it at 6 months but not before I don't think. She did sit independently bang on 6 months though, which is needed for a chair like that. purple, i've got this highchair

www.mothercare.com/East-Coast-Nursery-Height-Highchair/dp/B001FTKHQ2?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_1&nodeId=42862041&sr=1-1&qid=1327609872&pf_rd_r=0JPXBKBTMZFMCANX5SVK&pf_rd_m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=42862041&pf_rd_p=231490867&pf_rd_s=related-tab-3-5

(still can't do fancy linking biscuits...) ity's good, but can be a pain as in highchair mode it can be hard to clean around where the tray meets the chair iykwim. We have padded wipeable seat insert for it which we're still using. I think it'll be great as a toddler/child chair though. I like the babydan one ninja linked to though. Realistically, with the money of the tripp trapps I think I'm more likely to get them.

We wont be buying a highchair just yet either but will probably go for a compact wooden one. I have the clearing up of food from the floor sorted already though in the shape of a small dog who likes to 'hoover'!
I have had another gruelling day at uni and found out that they have moved the exam date to possibly 6 days before my due date!
I have managed to acquire a changing unit for£20, I pick it up on mon. Still deciding whether to get cot or cotbed though.