We're BROOKING NO ARGUMENT for easy and blooming pregnancies and pain free sneeze births (part 9)

[scarletfingernail]

Here we go again.......

Wow Scream that sounds brilliant! Such a lovely thing to look forward to.

We are happy, we are realistic too knowing that if our baby had downs that would totally turn life upside down, but that is something we will only worry about if it ever came to it. With my age we have a 1in968 chance of downs. I think the last time I saw mw and she said next time I see you you can have blood test and I said I wasn't having it she was accepting but also said I could change my mind. I mentioned our decision to my mum and she feels the same as us, which was nice.

If it is a No Brooker parent pattern rather than baby pattern, I do hope this doesn't mean I'll be holding up either Scarlet or Jaggy! Perhaps they will BOTH be before the 25th, with a girl for the first one and a boy for the second!

Yay for Scream's black mood evaporating. Your plans sound wonderful and I am super , plus more than a little curious as to which hotel and restaurant you're planning on. I booked a weekend in London with a friend when I was pg with DS for when he would be 6 months old. I was worried I wouldn't book it if I waited until after he'd arrived. It was bliss! Of course I missed him but I knew he was in safe hands with DH. It really did me the world of good. We spent the morning shopping, the afternoon in the hotel spa, had dinner in the evening in a very posh restaurant and spent the rest of the evening slurping yummy cocktails and having a good laugh. It was fab to wake up in the morning in my own time and then go home to DH and DS feeling more like my old self.

This time it'd be nice to do it with DH instead, but getting someone willing to have 2 young DC overnight could be a bit more tricky.

Popcorn ignore, ignore, ignore. Plus get used to it! When the baby arrives you'll be given no end of "advice" and "helpful tips". I remember crying after speaking to one of DH's cousins on the phone. Who by the way we don't usually hear from from one year to the next. She took great delight in telling me she managed to BF for a whole 2 years and loved spending 8 hours solid feeding through the night as it "really did strengthen the bond" right after I'd told her I'd been advised to stop perservering with BFing as I didn't have any milk.

Scarlet your day out sounds like heaven! I'm a little worried about spending most of the day alone, which I've never done before on my birthday. However I think I'll mostly want to sleep, plus I'd have a hard time convincing my friends who live in London to spend lots of money on a London hotel!

I can't believe that your DH's cousin said that to you about the bfing! Why do normal people suddenly get completely insensitive around this kind of thing!?!

Scarlet I did pick up the fact that your day out happened ages ago by the way. Is there any chance you could get even a half day with DH his time round - do you have any relatives who might be willing to take on two for a few hours?

Any twinges by the way? How are you holding up?

ok on phone so got to usy and remember this!

pop i am much more ready this time than last to ignore advice! you'll get used to smiling and nodding...

Glad you feel better scream and sounds like you've something to really look forward to. I'm a wuss too though and wouldn't be able to prise myself away from baby for that long! i still haven't left DS overnight... going to hospital will be longest I've been away i guess. hoping he's ok will prob worry me more than the birth!

glad you had a nice evening wants - hope DH surfaced eventually!

hope party was ok and afternoon nice ninja. :)

dream you must be so wiped out! really hope you get a wee break sometime, but i remember the first few weeks as nuts- can't imagine it x2 + toddler!

pants it's hard to scroll up and down on my wee phone! hope i didn't miss too much.

i am in a bit of a flap today that things might happen soon and I'm just not ready. pains are still only a few a day, although i had a good one earlier and had to have a seat.

ran out of room cos phone only lets me post so much! away finishing my ramble...

i seem to have had a bit of a show though, not bloodstained or anything, but less clear and a bit more than the last few days.

i only have a big backpack ready for hospital, nothing much for if i have to stay in or for going home.

i still have an ironing pile instead of a crib, my parents are 3 hours away.

flap flap!

i know that you can have a show days before labour, also i had practice contractions for days and days last time.

also DH is annoying me about names. he suggested a girl's name while we were ttc, it totally grew on me and sounds nice with middle name etc. he's since said he's not sure about it but not come up with anything else. I'm not even sure about the boy's name which i suggested, but i felt the same about DS's and it totally suits him now. he's implying that he's not had a say but when he comes up with things like 'how about Paprika for a girl?' (while cooking) I'm inclined to do this

anyway, excuse the me me me i am in a funny mood!

jaggy at your DH. Sounds exactly my DH and I agree it's very annoying. I'm not 100% at all on either our girl's name or our boy's name any more and DH is no use whatsoever. Great news about the show yes I am jealous!

Scream it was ages ago since my weekend away, you're right. I went with a friend because neither myself of my DH wanted to leave DS with a relative overnight at that stage. We only left DS overnight for the first time a few weeks ago. DH and I do get out for a few hours for evening meals though now and again so it's not all dull, and I know we'll have relatives who won't mind continuing with that once every few weeks once there's two.

I've had a few pains more pains than usual this evening. I'm trying not to get excited, or worried. Worried because I've felt less movement than usual today. I've had some movement, but nothing like as frequent or vigourous as normal. I guess it's possible the baby has finally started to engage, but I'm not hopeful. These pains started on and off a couple of hours ago, I'm not getting my hopes up as it's very irregular.

it's crap just sitting around mentalling about whether something is actually happening eh!

i do feel really weird, and DH thinks I'm a bit mental today.

if it was just us I'd be happy as anything, but because i need to summon babysitters, it feels like more pressure to know what's going on!

Big hugs to Scarlet and Jaggy!

Jaggy it will all come together on the day! You're a No Brooker and these things have a way of working themselves out. Personally I'm amazed at the sheer amount of ironing you seem to do! How many clothes does your family have!?! Even if you go into hospital in the morning, sneeze out your baby at lunchtime and get home in time for dinner, your DH will be able to put up the crib on the day. So don't worry about that. I'm pretty sure my parents put me to sleep in a drawer on the floor at relatives' houses more than once when I was tiny anyway! The only thing the baby needs that first night is YOU! As for the hospital stuff, your DH will have to go home overnight anyway (if you end up staying the night), so he can come back in the morning with anything you might need.

What is the plan for your DS when you go into labour? Will your parents hop in the car or will you be leaving him with a friend/neighbour for your parents to collect him from when they get down?

I'm super jealous of your show by the way! A couple of days ago I thought mine might be starting but there's been nothing since, sob sob.

Scarlet I do hope your contractions either get serious or bugger off - none of this teasing! Over the last couple of weeks (when I was still hoping for this LO to be early!) I couldn't help but think I'd pay a small fortune to anyone who could accurately tell me my DC's birthday! These last few weeks would be totally different if you had a guaranteed delivery date! Even an elcs date isn't guaranteed.

Can I just say as an aside, this whole pregnancy process has made me realise how atypical I am from most women! I don't feel the same way about pregnancy, or babies. I am already planning ways to spend time AWAY from the baby. I guess I just thought that there were more people like me out there, but I really haven't met any. My one consolation is that my Mum is exactly the same as me, and so is DH. We're already divvying up which nights of the week we can each have off (DH is having Fridays because of his regular martial arts but for every Fri night he has off I get a night as well!) We're also planning separate holidays (France in Oct for me and Switzerland in Jan for him).

To be completely honest (don't hate me No Brookers!) I'm really dreading the first couple of years. I am not a baby person at all. For years I thought I didn't want children full stop, because I was only thinking of them as babies. Now that I'm older I realise that they don't STAY babies. I'm really looking forward to having CHILDREN. I love the idea of going on holidays and sharing the places I love with my child. I want to love and support and mentor someone right from the start through to achieving their dreams. I want to enjoy the close friendly relationship I have with my Mum and she has with her Mum. Basically I want everything that comes later. I could quite happily skip the baby years though...

thanks for the hug :) needed that!

we haven't asked any friends or neighbours to do back up so we have DH's folks 1.5 hours away or mine about 3. mine are due to come down to stay nearby, but not arriving till next Saturday! so worst thing would be things happening quickly overnight - wouldn't really want them driving sleepy.

indeed as a Brooker it will all be fine.

the amount of ironing i do is not the problem- it's the lack of! i saved up a stupid amount for mat leave by mistake! also i keep forgetting to whip stuff out of the drier quick so it doesn't need ironed. even ironing a minimal amount we seem to get a build up .due to me avoiding it

i appear to have stopped leaking goo for now (sorry TMI!) and don't really have pains but everything just feels a bit high pressure in my abdomen and lower regions! probably just wind...

going to try and get some sleep and stop worrying!

night night and thanks all!

hope everything either settles down or ramps up properly for you scarlet!

Wowee - I'm ramping up the brooking for Scarlet, Scream and Jaggy - hope the various pains and shows etc turn into something proper soon (but maybe not until at least your cavalry arrive for DS Jaggy?)

My money is on it going Scream (before the CS date), then Scarlet then Jaggy.

I agree it's really frustrating just not knowing when it's all going to kick off. It's a bit like the 2ww when you're analysing every ache, pain, sneeze etc in case 'this is it'

Oh and Scream your birthday planning sounds awesome - how lovely. And if anyone deserved something so lovely to look forward to it surely has to be you. Well done to your DH for thinking up a way to cheer you up too - what a star

I can totally see where you're coming from about the children vs babies thing. I know when we decided to start making mini-biscuits, I was thinking more about having them as 'children' rather than babies. Even when we decided to try for no. 2 I was thinking about ds1 having a sibling but it's all about them both being children and being able to play together etc. babies are quite hard work - I guess getting them to feed and sleep is pretty much a full time job and especially when they're so young they don't 'enjoy' stuff in the same way children do.

DS1 at 3 and a half is a lot more interactive so you can do things he likes to do and talk to him about things - and for me too that's what having babies was more about. And in looking forward to that getting even better as they get older.

Plus 'doing stuff' was a lot easier once ds1 got to about 3 and we didn't need to cart so much crap stuff around like pushchairs or travel cots or nappy stuff or food for him - he was like a proper person .

Wants - so glad your DH is home - you must be so pleased . And glad your DN is home too - will be brooking for the next appt in 6 weeks.

Hope everyone else is well.

morning, stopped mentalling a bit this morning.

am going to have to whine a little bit though as i feel like crap. have woken up with a cold and a sore throat. after not much sleep i am a bit of a grumpy mummy today. DH was going to get DS his breakfast so i could have a wee rest, but the wee monkey said 'no daddy, just want mummy' and refused to get up!

feel a bit better after breakfast but have sneaked back to bed for now.

hope everyone is ok today :)

Awww Jaggy these boys know how to keep us on our toes don't they! Sorry you're feeling poo but glad you're able to go back to bed and have a rest.

I'm trying to think of something nice to do with DS tomorrow as we were going to be meeting a friend and she's had to cancel. But my brain doesn't work - cant think of anything and I don't want to just end up dragging through the day with frequent bursts of tv. Any suggestions?

if i think of anything I'll let you know, brain is mush today!

i did get DS jumping on the bed to see me there, apparently the duvet was the sea and he was looking for treasure with his octopus diving helmet and air. think we are in an Octonauts mood this week... he's off watching youtube with dad now.

i was the opposite and kind of wondered how I'd feel when my wee baby got all big! he is lovely though and makes me laugh every day. i feel very soppy towards him right now, guess I'm aware he'll not be on his own for long. he learns too fast though..

me : got a cuddle for mummy DS?

DS: I'm too busy mummy

DS : no thank you mummy.

can't really argue when he's been listening to me trying to get him to be polite!

Cheers everyone ? I'm going to ignore ignore ignore as advised! :o
It's our DC1 too scream - but DH practically raised his younger siblings as this person well knows, so he's more than capable and experienced at looking after kids and babies. Luckily, though, DH was more at how she spoke to her husband while they were here - at one point I thought he'd pack the car up and leave :(

And your birthday plan sounds totally amazeballs scream! You sound so much happier, I'm really pleased ? sometimes all it takes is something fab to look forward to! I'm another one that doesn't particularly love babies (borrrrring) and is looking at it as an unavoidable bridge to having fun children :)

scarlet your cousin sounds lovely

I didn't really consider not having it done cakes but I suppose that's because given my age we're low risk anyway, so I didn't really think about it coming back high-risk. But I'm one of these people that like to be prepared, so I'd rather know either way tbh.

Ooo jaggy a show! Exciting! :o at DH's name suggestions! My DH has said he'll be happy with whatever name makes me happy....... but I expect that to change once we start discussing them! I hope you feel better soon :)

I'm getting a lot of cramping in one side (corner?) of my uterus today probably wind :o

I had a craving for a peanut butter and jam sandwich for brekkie, and now I feel properly barfy. Whoops.

We got given a moses basket, but the covers are a bit "used" - can you buy them separately? I had a look at mothercare but couldn't see any

Morning all. Too much has been going on on MN I've not had any time to post. Making a special effort this morning (in work) to at least say hi everywhere. :)

Jaggy exciting to hear about your symptoms, do you want to go pop soon? Same to Wants and Scarlet.
Scream your plan sounds wonderful, though I'm imagining being too attached to baby to want to do that. We'll see how I deal with sleep deprivation though!
Dream you poor you, I can't help thinking of little baby owls - up all night, eyes and mouths open wide :) I hope they give you a bit of a break soon, though it must be good for the little twin to be eating so much? Is he putting on weight?

I'm fine, feeling a bit sick this morning, but don't think it counts as ms as I felt fine before breakfast. DH and I went shopping yesterday and head a trolley full of healthy things. Though in the last 7 days I've had Macdonalds, fried fish and chips, and dominoes pizza! I now have new pg vits (pregnacare) and 3 types of fruit, home made broccoli and pea soup, and tomato soup, and plans for veg max dinners.

Nothing to report here. The pains eased off so I'm back to wondering when this baby is going to come out.

I'm DS free today and don't know what to do with myself! I think I might have a nice hot bubble bath and then just lounge around reading and ignoring all the jobs that need doing

Biscuits have you had a trip out with the two of them on your own at all yet? Maybe just a trip to the park to begin with?

Popcorn was your friend who visited the same one who previously wanted to bring her child who was ill with whooping cough? I love it when we see friends where the DH is properly nagged at and hen pecked. It makes me look so much nicer! I like to remind DH of these wives when he says I'm going on at him.

Scream I was the same as you about having DC prior to having DS. Was really looking foward to the older years, holidays/outings etc. Then when I did find the newborn stage so difficult I looked forward to it even more. As DS grew bigger though I felt very guilty about wishing his babyhood away and I still do. I'm determined to enjoy it more this time, but at the same time I don't want to treat it too differently to DS. DS has become very independent and confident. He's always been comfortable with other people and never clingy. I wonder if it is because I wasn't possessive about him when he was tiny. I don't know, maybe it's nothing to do with it. I tend to over-analyse these things too much.

Popcorn I'm going to sound really bitchy when I say this. BUT be aware thatsome people will see you as an opportunity to get rid of all their old baby tat rather than throw it away. Be ruthless and feel free to decline anything you don't really want "oh that's very kind of you but we're sorted for one of those already thank you". Or if you want to be even more polite accept it and then get rid. Have a look online if you're happy to buy more covers, you'll at least need to replace the matress anyway. If you'd rather get a new one just get one, I got mine for £50 online including a stand 4 years ago nearly, so you can probably get one cheaper these days.

I politely accepted too much stuff when expecting DS and some of it really was in a terrible state and we ended up having to take a carful to the tip. I think people sometimes just thing it's easier for them if someone has it rather than them have to go to the tip themselves.

:o :o scarlet you're probably right, but she said it hadn't been used - the little motif is coming off the cover though and it's obviously been well loved, I'm not sure it'll manage another 6 months of use, though the basket itself is fine.

Different friend! I think DH realises now that I'm quite low maintenance - at one point DH was asked how he was coping with my mood swings and DH had to admit I'd been fine :o

I should say she is ordinarily a very lovely person, we're not sure quite what's up with her recently :(

glad no one's asked my DH. in fact i don't think he's needed any prompting to mention that I'm a complete psycho bit grumpy.

i must be nuts because i hauled myself out of bed to take DS to his 10 o'clock toddlery activity for the day. he told me on the way he didn't want to go, then abandoned me most of the time and left me singing on my own.

then when we got home i had to employ the rolled up carpet under the arm method to get him back in the house. followed by stickers from emergency stash to get him to sit still for lunch. which was more flipping cereal as I'd run out of energy to argue by this point. mind you he did get DH to make him some pasta for breakfast...

nothing exciting to report, not too many pains and still seem to be losing mucousy bits. sorry for TMI at lunch time!

one guy at my work turned up with his unwanted baby stuff about 2 days after i told them i was pg with DS! he was well keen to have a clear out.