May 2013 - we've seen our babies and our trousers are tighter as we enter the second trimester!

[SevenElvesAndAReindeer]

Shiny new thread. Come and grab a and a .

oh am so sorry to hear about your illnesses ladies :( all round. scooby I hope you get to rest up ok. Am sure it is just CM that you are feeling but if you are worried get checked out!

My best mate's family has got norovirus and am a bit concerned as we had them over at the weekend! so on sick watch for a bit... fingers crossed is all ok, that would be a nightmare.

another llp person roast! I have never heard of it before but it is all the rage amongst us! I am spotting when am just sitting still now so don't know what is going on. Am going to be doing the childminder run from now on tho so sod it. Go with your instincts re: sex roast. I can't/won't but that is personal to me.

Am shattered today and have been really angry! eek. Shouted at Dh this morning and I can't really remember why any more so I better go down and apologise work stress, tiredness and pg hormones are not a good mix and I have been a bit of a beatch. I am sure I wasn't this crotchety with DS. It's weird, I feel rage really quickly and am compelled to act on it. I can't go away and stew, or think about it until I get some perspective... I feel very aggressive and just start arguing :( Then after I have argued and am on my own I just burst into tears! I don't like it!

elly hope you are feeling better today.

sea how are you doing now?

19+0

Santa I could have written what you just did about the rage...totally the same. I am angry about EVERYTHING. Got DH worked up last night by demanding he take our property search seriously (he is) and then wailing that we could be homeless by mid-February when I'd be six months pregnant and DID HE WANT THAT? Of course he doesn't, bless 'im, but there's only so much you can do to find the 'perfect house'....which doesn't exist in reality but oh, do you want it to while you're preggers and wanting to nest??!

I hate everyone at work. I have a work Christmas party tonight and it's in a pub round the corner with some nachos and garlic bread. Can imagine standing sullenly by the food table, eating aggressively.

Incidentally - straw poll, ladies. If you found a decent house BUT it had this bizarre quirk where the washing machine/tumble dryer and boiler were plumbed in to an outside shed.....and IF you were moving in when 6 months pregnant....would you want to sort that out immediately and completely gut the kitchen to make it better?

I only ask because I think we may have to do so before bub comes along...but not sure we have the money, and trying to work out if I could live with it for a while...

19+1

Hi all, haven't been on for a while, it's been a house of illness here. DD has had tonsillitis then croup and I've been backwards and forwards to the GP, still not feeling right after the pneumonia. And I brought up some bright yellow phlegm (sorry TMI!) this am so it's bringing back horrible memories of starting to get ill with pneumonia.

Hope that everyone who's feeling ill gets well soon. seasalt how are you? berri how's the placenta? And who was it that had a car crash, are you ok?a

I'm empathising big time with all the stories of THE RAGE. With DD I was sometimes scared to leave the house in case I went berserk on the street at some poor random person who came within 5 feet of the bump! It's been slightly better this time but only cos I've spent most of the pg on the sofa sobbing at the news. Can't really take in what's happened in the US, it's just too awful.

Also empathising with the work apathy, I've been trying but it's the end of term and quite frankly the energy isn't there. Everyone at school is exhausted as well. Thankfully I'm off sick again this week and won't be back til 7th Jan. hoo bloody rah!

Had 20 wk scan today, sonographer was amazing explained it all so well, kept saying things like, "there's the spine, it's gorgeous! There the little face, beautiful!" And he's a boy!!! just knew it, tho 50% chance of being right! So so so happy.

beaver I could prob live with the washer etc outside, but I have quite high tolerance to inconvenience, then one day SNAP just can't live with it. Can you have a plan of realisitic saving and set a time you'll get it done, maybe in the summer when it'll be less inconvenient to have the builders in?

Hi to everyone else, sorry if I've missed anyone having a rough time, I've just skimmed through.

Hi all. I've not posted in ages either but have been keeping up with all your news.

beaver we've had our washing machine, tumble drier, boiler and spare fridge/freezer in an outbuilding for 3 years and its fine. It's a bit annoying to have to go out in the cold/wet but i just tend to do more washing on nicer days or tie getting the washing in/out of the machine with going out anyway. A good laundry basket to carry it all in is key though. I don't think it will be so easy with a little one to carry in/out or leave unattended for a few minutes but it may be a case of just being organised to set up a load overnight when DH is home.

As for me, I've been manically busy at work - run my own business and have loads of deadlines before xmas. Have also realised a 3 hour drive in each direction to a client meeting is too much for me to be doing in one day now and will need to get the train should the need arise again. Been having some tummy stretching pains too which make me more tired.

Have my 20 week scan on Friday - so glad we got an appointment before xmas - excited and nervous at the same time. I've not felt any movement yet but I don't know if i should have done or not given it's my first and at my 12 week scan i had an anterior placenta. Anyone else not felt movement yet?

Hope those who are ill feel better soon - I'm very nervous about the norovirus outbreak.

I can't keep up with this thread at the moment! I'm trying to stay on top of all your news though :)

Had far too much going on lately. Had DS's 1st birthday yesterday so between that and sorting out Christmas and relatives visiting it's been so busy. Although yesterday was just lovely. Can't believe I have a one year old already!

Haven't even really had time to think about being pregnant. Apart from when the little kicks happen and when I look in the mirror. I honestly look about 6 months pregnant . The bump is massive.

Have my anomaly scan tomorrow. I always get worried about these. I spend the whole scan with my fingers crossed. We don't want to know the sex either this time so hopefully nothing will wave obviously in front of us like DS did .

Will try and keep up a bit more from now on, I promise!

20+0

hehe beaver and tas thank you for empathising and am sorry you have such bad rage too. I hope you have fun times tonight beaver and don't frighten everyone away from the buffet I slunk downstairs with my red-rimmed eyes in the end and apologised and being a very nice man he let it go. I must reign it in tho!

little sounds about right for first time and an anterior placenta. glad you are ok and good luck for your scan!

a boy tas congratulations!! what a lovely scan story. are we having lots of boys on this thread?!

beaver I am insanely lazy and wouldn't like to have to go outside for my washing but I don't think even for me it would be a deal breaker. As you say, it wouldn't be permanent.

good to see you terra! You have a xmas (sort of) child too :) happy birthday to your DS and good luck for your scan tomorrow.

Thanks Wilde. Sorry to hear you're still having problems with your placenta and the rage .

My friend who has a medical-related pHD that we saw at the weekend seemed quite confident from analysis of my 12 week scan photos that based on the nub theory we'll be having a girl so it'll be interesting to see on Friday as me and DH have gut feelings of it being a boy - no idea really though!

Should say that our outdoor washing machine situation won't be permanent either - we have plans for a kitchen extension but need to save lots more pennies before we can do anything.

Also meant to say 19+2.

Hi Betsy my placenta is also low lying, but the doc said it's very common at this stage, and as your uterus grows it 'moves' with it and therefore out of the way. She said 95% of the time it looks low-lying at 20 weeks and then by the time you give birth it's fine.

roast there's no need to abstain from sex unless you don't feel like it I actually checked this one with doc as my libido is out of control at the moment, poor DH! and this is with my previous bleeding problems too, so just go with whatever feels comfortable.

Sorry to hear about all the bugs and colds :( Looks like everyone needs a break over Christmas

Congrats on your boy news! Placenta is behaving itself for the time being, I'm being ever so lazy though so that is perhaps helping. I'm just enjoying the laziness while it lasts!

beaver I think if everything else is what you're looking for, it won't matter too much that it's outside. My washing machine is on the basement level of our house so if you think about it, it's just as annoying going up and down stairs with everything as it is to pop outside. Like littlespade said, just make sure you have a decent basket you can carry easily.

21+0

Another enraged one here. Why does pregnancy cause everyone around you to become Extremely Irritating?

beaver I think I'd be alright to move in, with a date for Getting It Sorted. I do enjoy that thing of discovering how lovely normal can be and being really grateful for it - my last place was a building site for years, tbh, but when it was done I was extraordinarily pleased with minor stuff like, a plastered and painted wall! for ages. Where I live now was always done (moved in with DP) and I don't get nearly as much pleasure out of the flatness/ paintedness of the walls.

LittleSpade it's interesting when others have predictions to make that go against your sense of things. When my DS was born he had a thatch of dark hair, which I was very pleased about, in a sort of perverse way, because everyone had predicted he would be fair, as I am and as my DP was when he was born. MiL said that he would be fair-haired as 'all European children are born with fair hair' and everyone else was just inexplicably confident about that fact. This confidence led me to feel aggrieved that everyone seemed to be planning who he was before he arrived, thinking they knew him before they met him. I felt very cross about this, rage being my default pregnancy setting (my friend said that I don't glow but glower during pg) and when he was born with his dark thatch, it felt like a little triumph, and that he was on my side.

Terracotta I am also scanned tomorrow and trying not to worry about my generally less focused approach to nutrition in pregnancy than I had during my first. To Find Out, or Not to Find Out, is my question - we found out last time but found it quite annoying that everyone bought blue stuff with cars on it. I actually think this is annoying beyond the fact that everything is annoying during pregnancy, it's just so suffocatingly, disappointingly gendering, as if everyone is frightened something dreadful would happen if he didn't realise he was a boy from the very first instant of being alive. And I quite like blue but feel almost allergic to pink, not because of the colour itself but because what it means.

Bad luck Scooby and Reeny - being sick during pg is totally crap given that your immune suppressed and less able to fight it. I feel slightly off colour most days - lingering morning sickness without the actual flourish of puking. Hasn't stopped me decking a load of crap...

Anyway, just unwinding here for Christmas. Wincing at rail prices - wish we'd booked a bit sooner....

19+6

Oops spent all day thinking it was Thursday so got my dates muddled up!
Actually 20+5

he he! amused by the amount of rage there is on here at the moment. seems like everyone needs a few days off to rest up! well done those who apologised to dp/dhs though, I find it incredibly hard to do but so important.

we're finding out on christmas day re. boy/girl but there's a bit of me that doesn't want to tell anyone else for the very reasons you say, sparkly - although i'm sure we will end up spilling the beans. i read a book a few years ago called the gender delusion in which is was talking about all the things that happen subconsciously to instill gender distinctions between boys and girls - even before they are born. apparently there's evidence to show that women who know they are carrying a boy speak to their bump with a lower voice than those who know it's a girl (with those who don't know as a control). isn't that crazy?!

anyway... two more days of work left for me. bring on the hols! have a good day everyone - and mind out for that rage!

Lovely to hear all the scan news, roast I think that is a lovely idea about finding out the sex. We are not sure, have the amnio a week tomorrow and the gyne here will no doubt blurt out the sex as they are prone to do that here in France.

Can't remember who it was in Singapore and the US but I am feeling so homesick at the mo, so I know how you feel. I think having a DD and then the thought of being on my own with a young baby while DH is at work has made me think long and hard about how the heck I am going to cope. My DD will go to school here in 18 months time, one thing about the French they start school early, in our village it is 3 years old.

Other than that just feel totally run down, not sleeping which is doing my head in. Want the amnio out of the way as that is hanging over me too. Turning into a real worrier, want to enjoy my life again but not going to happen for such a long time ahead.

I had rage but now it is just turning into bouts of crying, which I hate, never was like this before!

Boo hoo, sorry for the moan.

18+3

Scanned! A baby girl for us, not the sentimental type but did have a few tears. We're not telling anyone, well not anyone close enough to buy a whole load of pink shit, anyway. You lot seem safe enough! Have ordered the Gender Dellusion thanks Roastpotatoes, sounds very interesting! Can't help wondering how the MiL will take it, given her, "It would be better to have another boy, then he and DS could be friends. And boys are best. And men are more brilliant than women" crap. She's on notice, btw. Anyway

... posted too soon - anyway, we are very happy, DP is all googly and gooey, I am all inspired feminist, it's a winning combination.

Congrats sparklyboots and everyone else with their scan news
We already knew it was a boy but at the scan on Monday it was amazing to see him again. The consultant is happy that all his measurements are normal now so has referred us back to midwife from now on. Yay!!! just got back from a speedy 24 hr work trip... The flying felt a little weird already. Descending felt a bit sort of squashed! Have had another bit of a freak out about strep b after finding out that a colleague of mine had her baby die soon after labour when her strep b was passed on to it. Another colleague told me when I mentioned being strep b positive and kept telling me to take it seriously because of our friend. Way to freak out the pregnant lady! I realise that was a rare case and I'm just being hormonal blah blah but it wasnt nice to hear about when we were feeling all warm fuzzy & relaxed post-scan. have now had relaxing shower and am watching vintage Christmas program on tv to chill out and think about nice things. Friends have passed on so many newborn clothes we are now fully stocked up to 3 months I think. Never thought I'd be so enthusiastc about receiving a hand-me-down breast pump. Brave new world!

Roast that's really interesting about the pitch of voice when speaking to a known gendered bump. Even more kern to not find out!
S/he will be getting a Newcastle United babygro in any event
Had a lovely microdermabrasion treatment today, then it all went out the window feeling very faint walking back to work. Properly too hot/ need to sit down/ I'd like a glass of water. Bit scary. What could it be. I'd defo eaten enough but water is still a struggle so I know I'm dehydrated. Anything more I should be considering..?
Hope The Rage is subsiding

congrats sparkly! A girlie! Oooh, I will be ordering that book too :) I am terrified of pink and fairy dust etc so if I have a girl who is like that I will be quite frightened. But in the same vein I get miffed when people comment on any pink stuff DS has got or his dolls house :). he has a pink bib and bowls to counteract the MOUNTAIN of train stuff we are bought for him... and I was mortified when he turned to me at 2.6 and pointed to DH's pink towel in the bathroom and said 'it is yours mummy, because it is pink.' GRRR. No more adverts for him! Your MIL sounds like quite a character btw... I find women who hate women perplexing and depressing.

roast that is very interesting. I wonder if I would treat a baby girl differently. I think I would feel I had to be more careful with her, which is really pissing me off!

wirra that is lovely you have lots of things! All our baby stuff is in storage but I am too surprised that I am pg still to be looking at it all (says I as baby is thumping away in there!) I was also woefully unprepared for DS so should learn my lesson really.

hope you are ok ng. I would hate to be away now so I feel for you expats. Dh suggested going away for a holiday but i said NO! A caravan in wales with fish and chips on tap would be heaven for me tho (ooh now there is an idea!), rather than somewhere exotic! placenta means I have to stay grounded anyway (just because mine bleeds a lot and this worries me, am not sure if all LLP peeps have to avoid flying at this stage?)

Anyways. Up to my eyes in work, have the rage as I do every morning until about 11am, baby is kicking away and am (as pregnant people are allowed to be) contrarily delighted with it all :) Sister coming for a couple of days tomorrow which is lovely because my family are, ahem, fragmented to say the least and so this time of year can be difficult.

19+2. (bladdy hell! am like, proper pregnant!)

The whole gender debate is facinating ... I am very un 'girlie' and dislike the colour pink - so when we had a DD we dressed her in every colour under the sun but only the occassional pink thing and certainly no frills ... however at 3 she is now beyond addicted to 1. pink 2. only wearing dresses/skirts (point blank refuses to wear trousers) 3. princesses ....It is nothing we have done in raising her to date or our nanny or friends/family who all know and respect my feelings ... so it all seems to be coming from the general TV/environment and she sifts out by herself what she likes ie the girlie things ....as I say its facinating and sods law I now have the girliest of little girls!

Finally decided to be a slightly better mother after been so tired for months so taking her to Peppa Pig Live tomorrow .. heaven help me ... !! I've suddenly got enormous amounts of energy also to feeling a little manic I feel so good in comparison to the previous months...

peppa pig live moo?! fab! DS would love that! your child is exactly as she should be Moo, herself :) Wonderful :)

10 am always trying to remind myself that my DS would be a 'girl' if his characteristics were put down on paper... he is very gentle and quiet etc, just doesn't twirl about in a tutu (tho he has been known to like wearing a skirt!) so 'gender' and what may suit 'us' be damned

moo I bet your DD will love Peppa live, I always meant to take DS to the PeppaPig Land but never got round to it and now we're not in the bloody country!

ng yes it's a bit crap being away from home this time of year
Last year was great as it was all very Christmassy - we had guests and there was loads of stuff going on, but this year it's just us and I think the prey hormones make me much more homesick than usual. Just focusing on how I don't have to endure a flight with DS and a bump, so trying to think about the positives!

Gender debate is v interesting - but from experience with DS I'm pretty sure that how you treat them/what you dress them in has no bearing on how they turn out. I was very close to a SAHDad as our DC were born at the same time, and he was determined not to let her be influenced by all the pinkness. They didn't find out the gender before she was born, she was dressed in blue & brown, not allowed to watch TV, had an equal amount of cars, trains etc as my DS had....but yes you guessed it, now is obsessed with all things glittery and sparkly, and wants to play with nothing but dollies and princesses. I really don't think you can influence anything in any direction!

21+1

It has been a while since I caught up but it is nice to see everyone is OK and that lots of the 20 week scans are taking place.

Wirra ? brilliant news that you have been discharged back to midwife led care and that your baby looked so normal on the scan.

Beaver ? I am sure that you don?t need to be told this but when you move do check out which schools you are likely to get into from any new address. It is shocking how quickly the school application process comes around (about 3.5 years after birth!) and the cost of buying and selling probably means you don?t want to have to move again soon. A few of my friends have been really caught out in London by thinking they will get into nearby schools and then realising the normal catchment is only one or two blocks.

NG1412 ? sorry that you are feeling so down and homesick. Why are you having an amnio? Sorry if you have told us and I forgot. I think that kind of test really hangs over you and I bet you will feel a lot better once it is over with.

Terracotta ? my DD2 has the same birthday as your DS! Its hard organising birthdays around Christmas isn?t it? I think May birthdays will be so much better.

Seasalt ? how are you doing? I hope your waters remained intact and the rest paid off. Thinking of you.

I wonder how Little Bairn is doing. Does anyone hear from her off board?

Re the gender debate: I have two girls and from the moment they were born they have been little individuals not defined by their gender. I never thought much about whether to dress them in pink or not and sometimes I did and other times I did not. Sometimes I buy them dolls and plastic jewellery and sometimes I buy them lego castles and play mobile pirate ships. Neither of them are terribly girly or terribly tomboyish, they are just them with their own likes and dislikes and interests. We know that number three is likely to be a boy and it has not occurred to me to assume he will be very different as a result, at least not as a child. I guess I think he might be more physical, my friends with boys tend to have to run them around more, but I have no idea what toys he will like or hobbies he will have because I have yet to see his little character develop.

Sorry to hear so many others are ill. I am living in fear of the norovirus ruining Christmas. I have a severe phobia of vomiting which has got a lot better wince having some therapy specifically for it but when the national press is whipping up hysteria about a nation infected with a vomiting virus I do struggle to remain calm!

I finished my Christmas shopping today and had a lovely brunch with a friend. Hair cut this afternoon and then my fourth night out in a row. I?m looking forward to tomorrow because we have nothing but family plans between then and the 28th. Bliss!

18+3

Hi guys sorry have not been around. Been lurking here on and off just not had chance to post.

Had 20 week scan today and everything appears to be alright with the baby, although they do want me to come back in 2 weeks for a growth scan as one of the measurements was on the lower end of normal, but sonographer assured me baby is fine just a little small.

And it would appear my DD is getting a little brother :D

Just had 20 wk scan, all looks fine but couldn't see bottom of scan because baby wouldn't get into the right position, even after a 15 min walk around! Got to come back in a wk or so for another check.

Not caught up or read back yet, hope you are all ok and will write back again soon x

Oops, meant to say they couldn't see bottom of spine, not scan