Morning all, gosh, so much catching up to do! Thanks for so many supportive comments after my awful ante-natal appointment on Monday. Although I know I should I'm afraid I'm not going to follow up with a formal complaint as it will just raise my blood pressure again and I don't imagine it'll do much good anyway. I got cross enough when I was trying to find out details about Maidstone (same trust) when I saw in black and white that the antenatal clinics for both hospitals request that you take a urine sample with you to clinic appointments like I had done 
. If they'd followed their own guidelines they wouldn't have upset me in the first place! Anyway, onwards and upwards. Will have a chat through options with lovely community midwife in a few weeks, and till then I'm trying to find a doula tricky with a due date so close to christmas! And I'm listening to my pregnancy hypnobirthing track and doing my antenatal yoga, all good for keeping the stress levels in check. Have a horrid cold now though, so much for a week off to do fun stuff with DS, he's now parked in front of CBeebies whilst I feel sorry for myself 
Unbuffy I've had more than a few moments this week of anxiousness for no real reason and generally feeling down -- hormones and the start of illness in my case, but it's just so horrible. Good to hear you're feeling a little better. The potty training does seem to be endless challenges, though DS was dry really quickly, he's managing such good control we now have a constipation problem... poor chap, ends up being really rather painful for him. Glad you're getting to the success stage now.
Redhead very best of luck for today! Hope you get lovely staff and lovely news and a big wave from your little one 
Clareanna, good to hear the scary bleeding has stopped, am also v jealous of tea at the Ritz! Hope you don't get one of those midwives who won't listen in with their doppler any more, if you do, stamp your feet and insist! It's so wonderfully reassuring.
Sorry you're in such discomfort Sam, you're really going through it when you deserve to be having a lovely relaxing holiday... very impressed with all the list maintenance, especially whilst you're feeling so rough... we're going to have to start a list rota for when you're back at school in September!
Hope your little one moves to somehow help you feel a little less squished soon.
banana welcome and congratulations! the strength of line on a HPT often just depends on the brand and on how much water you've been drinking... hard to tell anything from it except a line is a line. I think it's possible to still have residual HCG after 4.5 weeks, but probably unlikely. With most people tests are back to negative after two or three weeks. Sorry if that's not the definitive reassurance you need, but your own intuition is generally the best guide, other than that, just wait and see if the line is still there on future tests (but don't expect it to necessarily get darker, it doesn't always). And hang in there, the very best and most helpful advice I've found here is that right now, you're pregnant, take each day as it comes and try to assume the best and enjoy it if you can.
Bunny, lucky you finishing work in October! I'm madly planning to carry on up to 36 and half weeks, the way I feel right now though I'd gladly stop tomorrow........ then again, DS was two weeks late, so I should have a fair amount of rest time before this little chap arrives.
Gilda with you on the bump now and on the tiredness, which isn't so good... where's my pregnancy bloom???
Happy how's things with you? nearly 6 months -- has the blooming started? Just in time for the third trimester niggles and total knackeredness?
Malteser I'm totally jealous that you have sailed through so far! Nightshifts though... goodness, I'd be asleep by 11pm and useless to anyone -- I'm amazed that you're still keeping up! As for the weight gain, I'm way over target gain too, if all the books are to be believed, but I started out underweight so I'm just carrying on and not worrying about it. Lost it all quick enough last time around and hoping to do the same again.
Lucky, Zayja, Sparkly and Lucy are any of you blooming yet? Someone please give me some hope that there will be a time where I feel great, even if it is just for a week!
Annie congrats on getting yourself into the second trimester and onto the list -- if anyone deserves to start glowing now it's you!
Digging where are you? Away on holiday? Hope all well with you - are you feeling kicks now?
So many people into second trimester now -- time seems to be starting to fly!
and all you ladies coming up to 12 week scans, I have my fingers tightly crossed for you all, it's so nerve wracking, hang on in there, it really won't be long, and the sickness does go eventually. I nearly threw up in the office last week , thought I was way past it, but I think it's the iron supplements... can't win, without them I'm dizzy and lethargic, with them I get waves of nausea... but not nearly as bad as it was around the peak sickness weeks at 8-9 weeks - you all have my sympathy, it's horrible.
Totally and Jacanne, congrats and thanks for popping in and reminding us of our goal. Jacanne you must be exhausted, I had a friend with a colicky baby the same time as I had DS, it was just endlessly frustrating for them both. GERD must be just awful, glad to hear it's improving, you must have had a very long 3 months.
Meita looking forward to news, best of luck and patience to you.
RTPK welcome, can completely understand your concerns, but as the others have said, try to focus on the 80%. Did they give you your risk factors for the other trisomies? Rarer than downs, so much less likely. Anxiety is unfortunately par for the course, and not always an indication that there is anything wrong. Maybe another scan in a few weeks would help set your mind at rest? It seems the later the scan the more they can see... and it helps bridge the long 8 week gap... best of luck.
Ladies at the top, hope you're resting up, lovely to see you all back here holding our hands!
Right, DS needs me to play now, so I'd better get moving...