Due March 2010 - do I look pregnant yet or just fat?

[annamama]

... starting a new thread as the old one was running out of space ...

WOW CONGRATULATIONS PIXIE FAB NEWS, TWO GIRLS

love the pram you have ordered, xxxxxx glad all went well and everyone is happy, xxxxx

Pixie Congratulayshes.....2 girls!!! TWO!!!! IDENTICAL. Soooo coooollllll.

Wow, how exciting, Pixie, great news! Congratulations!

Another hospital birth here! Maybe clouded by last labour - my waters went on Wednesday night and dd was born (after long back to back labour) late on Friday afternoon. Because of the risk of infection I had to be strapped down to monitors and a drip for antibiotics, so my idea of an active birth was not to be I'm hopeful that this time will be different, but have to be realistic that all does not always go to plan. Even more annoying, I'd requested the room with birthing pool, if available - and got it, but wasn't able to use it. Maybe I'll have better luck this time....

Woohoo! Fantastic news Pixie - I'd be sooo excited if I were you!

Are they sharing a placenta/sac (not always so depending on when the blastocyst divided into two)?

I just love marks and spencers 'gastropub' Meatballs and sauteed potatoes. Ate faaaar too much of it for dinner and although I feel gorgeously satisfied, I'm stuffed silly. (as opposed to times when I'm stuffed silly but didn't enjoy what I ate so still feel unsatisfied).

Wish I had room for something sweet though (Do we have a 'I'm a gready fecking cow' emotion? I'm gonna need that since my sickness wore off a few of weeks ago and I'm really beginning to enjoy food again )

Congrats, Pixie! That is just soooo cute! And you sound v v organised with all your baby purchases.

IME water really helped in labour, it did improve my pain when labouring with DS1, DS3's labour was much faster: first pain at 5am which woke me, by 6am I could not get out of the bathtub on my own, DH had to dry me and dress me , 7.30am on arrival in hospital 8cm dilated! This was my VBAC and it was fab and I am very much hoping to repeat it - here's hoping!

Strangely enough, with each pregnancy I kind of fancy the idea of a home birth more: first time round I hated the idea, now I could imagine myself going for it. However, when I have my more rational medical head on, I realise that due to prev CS and my absurd ancientness maturity I am probably better off in hospital.
I have a consultant appointment next week and as I have changed hospitals I hope I will not have to do too much negotiating re further go at VBAC.

My bump is HUGE! And so high up, I do not like the shelf, I think I have moaned about it on here before. No movement yet, but hopefully cannot be long.

Congratulations to all of you with good news at scans. And more boys... goody-goody . Everybody have a lovely weekend.

Congrats Pixie

wow pixie - identical girls!!! How exciting - think of all the cute outfits!! [shallow emotion]

Great news Pixie and WOW at your shopping !

Lots of talk of active births and water. I had a bath at the hospital whilst in early labour and DH poured water over my bump with each contraction which was quite nice but I felt so sick and my headache was so intense I just needed to lie down and rest my head. After that the only walking I managed was to go to the bathroom to poo and to walk through to the delivery suite. I had thought I would have wanted to be moving around and had read about 'active' births but really you never know what birth will be like and what it is you want until you are in that position. My only advice is don't have anything too fixed in your head as it may not be like that at all.

smac that is precisely why I never made a birth plan witheither of my previous two births. I figured that f I had a 'plan' and it didn't turn out that way I was running the risk of 'dispppointmet' or even feelings of failure.

However, my ast birth was nearly 12 years ago and whilst I still won't be making a plan that is detailed or anything there are certain things I feel more strongly about now that I'm old mature and more educated about the whole process. Such as not cutting the cord until it's stopped pulsating. DS's cord was so tightly wrapped around his neck (twice) that they had to cut it before he was even out... but even so I didn't realise with either him nor DD that waiting for the cord to stop pulsating can increase the newborns blood volume by quite a sgnificant percentage (off the top of my head I wanna say about 20%... I'll check on that though)

Hi all - just back from week in Italy. Had a quick read/scan of many many pages. Due to time of night this is a very quick post!!

Pixie - fab news - identical twin girls are just the best!!! does that per chance giveway that I am one!!!

Oooh, well I was still asleep until a few minutes ago - does that count as exciting? I think so, when I had to be awake at 5.30 every day these last few weeks because of SO starting a new job. Although I rarely got up at that time I struggled to go back to sleep so have been pretty knackered lately.

Pixie so they've explained about twin to twin transfusion, then? Hopefully your girls will know right from the off how to 'share' properly Good luck picking out a bathroom... can I suggest a bidet for post-partum? (I kid. Bidets creep me out)

Pixie so exciting! I'd love twin girls...

ICWAS there's a really positive story about a single mother who had no support at all from the father in the Guardian Family section this morning. Honestly he was a right pr*ck but she's very happy now.

Made me cry (but I'd cry at anything these days).

I'm finding out out the sex on the 14th too. I'm not telling anyone in RL though....keep them hanging....

dttah ...so when you say RL you don't mean us, right? Because we're only virtual and as such you shoud definitey tell us as soon as possible!

Don't worry Manda you'll be the first to know

Great news about your identical twin girls, Pixie. Do you think you'll be able to tell them apart when they're born? When my cousin had identical twin girls, she tied different colour fabric bracelets around their wrists until she was confident she knew who was who!

Bit of a stressful 24 hours here. Had what seemed to be a show - minus the blood - yesterday. Saw the community midwife today who said that it was encouraging that there was no blood and no accompanying abdominal pain but to keep an eye on things. They'll see me on the gynae ward if necessary but I'm not really sure what they could do. Anyway, hoping things settle down and that it is just "one of those things". Oh, and also have suspected UTI - not connected to the "show" (or whatever it was). Sorry for TMI....

sariska I've had literally constant ewcm since about 4dpo... sometimes it's a lot more solid than usual and I would be alarmed it was a show but for the fact it's been there this whole pregnancy (did NOT happen with my other two). I asked for the mw to send off my sample at booking as my urine was a little cloudy (along with all the ewcm...) and I was worried about uti (despite lack of any symptoms) but it came back clear.

Fingers crossed it's just a natural increase in your secretions.

Ew. Secretions just struck me as an icky word. Not as bad as 'phlegm' though

Yep, very much hoping you are right, Manda. Was worried though because the only time I have had anything like that before was 48 hours before I went into labour with DS.

Oh well - pick-me-up takeaway & film tonight, I think - while I pretend I was not meant to have been enjoying a night away with my two closest friends....

It's taken me a while to read 8 pages of updates from whilst I've been away. You've all been very busy. Please excuse me not commenting on everyone's updates or I'd be here all night!!

Pixie - We looked identical until about 7 years old and very few people could tell us apart might be worth a plan to avoid mixing them up - who knows maybe I'm really my sister!! We have quite different personalities as my sis is quite sedentry and creative and I've got the get up and go hence my job. We were often dressed in similar clothes but different colours of the same version and shared a room through necessity until aged 14yrs. You might find they would rather share??? Even now people we haven't seen for years know I am one of teh twisn but won;t know which!! Like all sisters we have arguments but we always come back and I'd do anything for her and her boys. Strangely now despite being older and looking different (she is size 8 and had more teeth out as a child so different shape face) we regularly go shopping independently and come back with the same clothes. We find we are better friends now then ever before. As teenagers we grew apart for a while I guess just trying to be independent of one another.

ICWAS = Please stop trying so hard to do what you think is best and go with your instinct. If I can offer two pieces of advice - 1- rather be happy,content and alone than used and abused by an arse. Youe self esteem can only take so much of a kicking. You will quickly realise how much better you will feel about yourself and your situation when you accept you ARE ALONE ( ie no partner - but NOT ALONE ie good support elsewhere!!) 2 - I know so many people who have stayed together for their kids and argue etc all the time and the man belittles the female in front of the kids. As the kids have grown up they all without fail would have preferred their parents to split up and be happy apart than constant atmosphere at home - much nicer for the kids in the long run. Good luck whatever you decide.

Can I ask another question? Soz to keep doing this!! Has anyone had a 20 week scan and found out the sex with their partner but told everyone else they don't know?? Does it work? Is it feasible?? I adamantly didn't want to know. Mainly because If we find out, we know what we will call the baby and thus so will everyone else so there will be no suprise and excitement when we ring averyone on the magic day just to confirm what they already know. Trouble is - everyone here is getting excited for their scans as am I and I'm now tempted to know but don't want to share!!!! ( in RL anyway!) Me and DH keep calling it 'flump' which seems a little unkind and wonder if we would bond better if it was our secret??

Would everyone guess that we knew anyway?? Can DH be trusted not to tell?? We have told everyone for weeks we are definitely not gonna find out!!

Hope everyone relaxing and enjoying their weekends xx

hi all
evening out tonight! Woo hoo i was even told i looked glamorous! pretty pleased with that particularly as it was before people got really drunk! ha ha.

scooby i know a few people who've done it, a couple were rubbish at keeping the secret which sort of slightly ruined it, and a few who just kept completely schtum. I suppose it's whether you can have a conversation about it being a boy (for example) and names etc when you really know it's a girl? the ones who were rubbish just never went down that route, hence them being rubbish at it!

{TMI alert}
sariska and manda i was toying with asking about this, i'm not utterly sure exactly what ewcm stands for (don't post it if it's TMI) but i get the gist and also have had quite a lot of, er, gunk down there and can't remember that happening last time...so not sure if that's helpful but still. why does it happen?! is it normal? (in my thoughtful moments on the loo i wondered if perhaps it's because there's nowhere for stuff to go..since the cervix is blocked...then i start thinking that's rubbish) (and then i give up)
right not making much sense, i'm off to bed. hope you all well.

Egg white cervical Mucus. It's a sign that you're ovulating when the "icky Sticky" ( to quote Elliot from Scrubs) has the consistency of egg white....

As you were.

Im due March 9th with my first and my boobs started leaking this morning. Yuk. This happened to anyone else yet or am I a mutant cow from planet Ick?

Oh, you're definitely a mutant cow lostlenore - moooooo!

Seriously, it's perfectly normal. I was leaking at 18 weeks with DD, 15 weeks with DS... I turn 18 weeks with this one today and nothing so far but I won't be surprised if it happens again. I know prior to falling pregnant I had high prolactin levels (connected to my pcos) and perhps 'early' leaking is connected to that?

Hi from Sweden! Now listen to this for a preg brain story... On my way here we went to THE WRONG BLOODY AIRPORT!!! (I'm normally Mrs super organised well travelled woman.) DH dropped us off at Gatwick, I couldn't find the flight on the board, then looked at the print-out and saw it said London Stansted! 113 quid and 5 hours later me and DD were finally airbourne... I'm laughing at it now.

Wow, so much to read and comment on! I'll have to read it all again and post more when I get home.

Pixie - wow congratulations! Funny that Scooby is one too. I have to apologise, I was sure you were having fraternal twins. Just keep the hospital tags on for a while until you think you can tell them apart.

Loving the water birth stories, I'd like to try that too. When DD came the birth centre was far away from hospital so I chose hospital, but now they have a birth centre with pool IN the hospital! Yay. I agree that you never know what will happen. I wanted active birth with no epidural. But I had a superlong labour and was forced to lie on my back for hours cuz they were monitoring baby and pain got too much, had epidural, drip and ventouse. Still glad I gave birth sort of "naturally" but hoping for much less intervention this time! Want to be one of those Mother Earth types who just pushes baby out while looking strong and dignified!

Bye for now.