We are all jolly well going to get preggers this month in a nonchalant non-psycho way, and hang onto it, and there will be no brooking of any argument whatsoever!

[ScreamIfYouWantToGoFaster]

Welcome across Rat Smackers! Glad you found the place okay. This is THE MONTH when we get those deceitful pee sticks to own up to the BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS - we are all already preggers! After all; positive people get positive pee sticks!

I hope you all like what I've done with our new home

You'll note the updated title, courtesy of farfalla. Various healthy snacks have been set out on the coffee tables, to ensure our bumps are receiving the appropriate nutritional balance

Also, my personal favourite adjustment, you'll note the strategically positioned peephole, right here, providing us with a sneaky preview of the utopian delights awaiting us in the NO BROOKING vomitorium ante-natal thread.

So let's get to it preggos! Remember: see a rat - smack it!

Hi Scream good to see your positivity is back! I love the 'security shagging' - brill.

Hi dizzy good to see you, I remember you from have's Annoying Thread.
I have to say I'm a bit too scared of AF arriving to be escited at the moment. I hate being in limbo and i'm at work and finding it soooo difficult to concentrate

Ninja did you say you were late already? So in my book that makes you pregnant (and anyway you're on this marvellous thread so how could you not be?)

scream, from another thread (ttc while bf) i have started using pre-seed which is a fertility-friendly lubricant, meant to mimic your fertile CM and help the swimmers crack on to the right place. It has amazing probably fake and written by amazon reviews on amazon and has some good write ups (as does conceive plus) on the other thread too. This is first month i've tried it but obviously it will hasten me to my bfp!!!!!!!!! so just use that with your anti-histamines more psycological 'i'm doing something' benefit too.

don't think the cough meds will work for me as I have no idea when i ov and would be taking it for weeks and weeks (and would depend if i could while bf) but i won't need it with my magic lube . and anyway, that rat is SMACKED!!!

biscuits, i agree, early scans are only for mother's reassurance really as what can they do at that stage if there is a problem?? (so said my gp husband when i wanted one after i had bleeding at 5 weeks with DD similar to my first mc initially) I did not have one despite my paranoia...(a mc or a scan!) I reckon you'll get on on NHS. Few tears at gp wouldn't go amiss. Get yourself there and lay it on thick!!!!!!!!!!!

ninja, you're so knocked up, well done!! Shall cross everything for you. hope for good news tmw

and hello dizzy

Hi Dizzy!

Dream I use conceive plus as well - and I totally agree with you that I take all those reviews with a big pinch of salt! Personally I use it because normal lubes contain spermicides, and given the sheer amount of SWI'ing around ov time we need to use SOMETHING (or I'd be walking around like John Wayne... apologies for the TMI!). At least with conceive plus, and pre-seed, you know you're not hindering the process. Although personally I don't think there's enough of it in the right place to actually increase your chances.

Ooooo I'm glad we're talking about early scans! I love the idea of having one (but figured I would have to wait until actually getting my pregnancy endorsed by a pee stick before anyone would let me talk about it! lol). It is all about reassurance. Statistically speaking even after the 12 week scan there's a 3% chance of miscarriage (which continues at the same % for the rest of the pregnancy). Apparently once you've confirmed the baby's heartbeat at an early scan, your risk of mc is only 5%, which means that you're almost at the same level as after your 12 week scan - 4 or 5 weeks early! I would find that really comforting.

Re scans - I would be reassured by an early one too, having had 2 mmcs (where the embryo stops developing, but you don't have a mc). From a practical point of view, I would prefer to know if this has happened so that it can be sorted out as quickly as possible. Anyway, this is not in the spirit of the thread, so I'll stop going on about it now!

Quick question re the mythical EWCM - if you do have it. does it happen just before ovulation or at ovulation? I think I get it, but not sure if it's before or during my egg-laying.

I get it for a few days before generic.

Hi everyone - hope you all had a great weekend.

AF due onTthursday and am not sure about any symptoms to be fair, don't know if I want to be spotting them anyway as it could be either. Am holding out to test until at least Thursday, but maybe even try Friday if I can manage it!

I think it's both Generic. There's a general increase before ov, with a huge amount on the actual day. I think. This is just the theory of course - personally I have almost none in the lead up, and then for one day (if I'm taking the cough medicine) I have lots. That day tends to coincide with other signs of ov for me so I'm pretty sure that's the day itself for me.

Scream and Ninja so do you try to SWI before or during the EWCM? Obviously to be on the safe side you could do both, but I'm just curious (and also amazed at how complicated this all is!)

Re early scans. They're only worth having at 8 weeks or over IMO. If you have an early scan before 8 weeks there's a good chance you will not see anything that indicates decreased risk of miscarriage. If a heartbeat is detected at 8 weeks though, the chance of miscarriage decreases significantly.

Biscuits I'm sure your GP would refer you for an early one at 8 weeks given your history. If you can, try and wait until then. I doubt your GP would refer you for one before that and paying for a private one would just indicate that something is happening, but the 8 week mark really is the milestone. Sorry if I'm telling you something you already know (haven't seen your other thread). Just remembering my own experience and I wouldn't want you to go through similar.

I had an 8 week scan with DS as we'd had problems conceiving and were at investigation stage. His heartbeat showed at 8 weeks and thankfully he arrived healthy and he's now 2.6.

When I got pregnant the second time I wasn't eligible for a scan at 8 weeks as we'd had no problems conceiving and I'd had no previous miscarriages. Unfortunately I miscarried.

When I got pregnant the third time my GP arranged for me to have a scan at 8 weeks and basically said if I were to have one before that it wouldn't mean the risks were any less even if it showed what it was supposed to. I was obviously very anxious and decided to book a private scan at 6.5 weeks. 3 days after I forked out £100 for a scan which showed a pregnancy sac but no fetal pole (which is apparently normal at that stage) I miscarried.

When I get pregnant again I know my GP will refer me for an 8 week scan and I will be extremely anxious but I will sit it out until then.

No sign of any ewcm here. Some months I have it and some months I don't. Is it just me or is it hard to tell the difference between ewcm and DH's love juice making it's way back down? If you've been SWI over a few days how do you tell the difference when you wipe? Sorry anyone who's having lunch!

I start just before and go till a while after. Generally I get ewcm on days 11/12/13 and have roughly 27 day cycle (between 26 and 28 usually). We try to swi on something like days 8/ 10/12/13/14/15/16/18 just to cover all bases. We don't always manage as much as this but if we do it every other day i think that is enough? Hope so anyway! That said i'm at the end of month 15 of my gestation period so who knows why its not worked so far!

Generic I don't think ewcm is likely to make or break your pregnancy (even if you weren't already guaranteed a BFP from being on this thread!). I agree with Biscuits and Scarlet it's just a nice to have.

Personally I think the more SWI'ing the greater my chances! I start my everyday shagathon a few days before I'm expecting ov, and continue until the day after I think it's happened. The rest of the month I stick to every other day. However I haven't got my pee stick endorsement yet... so you might be better off asking Biscuits what she did!

Of course it goes without saying Biscuits that everything is all going well for you and everything will be fine. Was just wanting to point out that there are a lot of private clinics out there who exploit our anxieties just to make money for themselves. I really think it shouldn't be possible to get a scan before 8 weeks unless there's a reason for ectopic concern.

Anyway, positive thread and all that Does anyone else get period type cramping pains around ov time?

The fabled ov cramps! I don't get those myself, but that's got to be helpful if you do! Personally I have to base my ov estimation on whether or not I am just OBSESSED with sex for the whole day The whole increased libido thing seems to affect me slightly, ahem.

Oooh is cramping a good sign Scream? I didn't know that. I associate cramping with things going wrong and had even started to wonder if I was experiencing endometriosis symptoms. I've not heard of anyone else who gets cramps before ovulating and thought it was something else for me to obsess about.

at increased libido Scream. I thought that was a myth as mine seems to disappear completely just when I need it.

Toni Weschler says do pelvic floor exercises 30 mins after swi to clear out sperm to distinguish between cm and sperm. I only find ewcm if I (?tmi) go rooting for it. And maybe only one check.in a cycle.
Hi dizzy, yes positivity is where it's at!

someone please help me work out if i am officially late! Over the last 12 months I have had

1 cycle at 22 days
3 cycles at 26 days
4 cycles at 27 days
3 cycles at 28 days
1 cycle at 29 days (back in december 2010)
Today is day 29 of my cycle........am i late yet?

have you are our resident rat smacking guru Fountain of knowledge for all things baby making.

I've not read Toni Weschler's book. Is it worth a read do you think?

Ninja you are late!!!!!

Pee on a stick woman and don't keep us in suspense!

Definitely late Ninja. Can't believe your will power. I'd have poas days ago!!

i shall be purchasing tonight....do we recommend boots, sainsbos or superdrug, cheapie or straight for the FR?

As you are officially late I think it warrants a FR.