Yes lol- see my post titled something like "I will take any positive thoughts etc you want to send my way" (or something like that, I forget exactly how I worded it). And thanks :)

Well, look at it this way. You're highly unlikely to have a baby and then think, darn, I sure wish I didn't have this baby! :) On the other hand, if you're thinking about it this much now, you probably ARE likely to regret NOT doing it if you wait too long and start feeling more like it's too late or have trouble conceiving due to age etc. I vote go for it. And soon lol.

I wouldn't but that's because of my personal comfort level and nothing to do with the age of the child- if I was inclined to want a child present- which I'm not, personally- then I'd prob be willing to let an interested 9 year old attend with some conversational preparation as to what she might expect combined with some videos of other births etc.

According to my 10 year old daughter, yes. (Her). Haha. In actuality- no. I wish!

I am so sorry you have to deal with this. :(

My kids are 19, 10 and 5. I am 4 weeks pregnant with number 4, took five months of trying! I turned 38 last month. :) I am very happy to be pregnant. And I've kind of liked having the kids spread out in age. Older kids make good helpers and understand and entertain themselves when you need to pay a lot of attention to the little one and so on. Like the above poster I like having kids in the house, they keep you young, and they're fun to be with- looking forward to a little baby again, I always think it goes too fast!

I am very newly pregnant and hoping it sticks! Due 2/28. :)

If all goes well with this pregnancy I intend to let it be a surprise. I did find out with all three of my kids and always liked knowing in the past, but figure it would be fun to have this last one be a surprise. :)

Some of these other responses were positively hilarious.... thanks for the laughs, I needed it! :D

Thanks, all. :) I called the dr back today and asked them if they would do blood tests to check my hcg levels. They said yes and had me go in today. I got the first blood test at 11 AM this morning. I have to go back Wednesday morning to repeat the test to see if the hcg levels are rising like they should. I should have the results by Wednesday afternoon. I am so nervous. Please continue to keep me in your thoughts.

7 is too young to send alone into a locker room. No, I wouldn't say anything. I also don't find showering in a locker room to be all that necessary, I'd probably just have my kid change and shower at home anyway.

:grouphug: My father just disappeared when I was about 10 years old. They'd been divorced, and my mother was taking us for the weekend visit we'd expected to have, only when we got there, one of his roommates informed us that he and his girlfriend had taken all their stuff and just disappeared. I make Father's Day about my husband, and knowing that my children have a better father than I did, and that makes me happy.

But, thanks! :D I got it from my library, and I only have a few pages left, and I loved it. Have the second book on reserve and can't wait to get it! :D

Good deal! Yes, that sums it up nicely...it's a good resource to pick and choose ideas from (and there are plenty of good ideas in it for younger children). I don't think it will stretch over as many grades as they say it is for but it will last a while. I still plan on using it again starting this fall. Some of the activities in it are really fun.

Thanks again for all the thoughts, well wishes etc. Not much of an update, but so far things are sort of the same... still having the brownish spotting and took another test that ended up being lighter still. My only hope is that when I took the first one, the urine I used did seem darker/more concentrated and I hope that was what made it darker, or that it has something to do with the levels of dye in the tests or whatever... tomorrow I'm going to call the doctor's office and see if I can get them to do a blood test... the whole thing is nerve-wracking. You spend five months wanting and trying for something and then you get it but you're not sure it's "real" or going to work out and you want to have hope but you're afraid to, too... ugh... it's making me kind of insane! I'll update again if I have any changes and appreciate those of you who are thinking of me!

:iagree: This is my definition of it as well. We also sometimes use the term "flake out" when someone decides last minute not to show..."I guess she flaked out on us" or some such.

You could do a scavenger hunt type thing...make a list of things you might pass...certain kinds of cars/trucks/motorcycles, schools, cemeteries, parks, fast food restaurants, post office, farm, tall building, so on and so forth and give the kids a check list type thing. You could make a list of the types of things people might be doing in their cars and see who can be the first one to find people doing those things... eating something, drinking something, smoking a cigarette, talking on a phone, "dancing" to music, picking their nose (haha), you get the idea.

Technically, I don't consider 10 to be a "little boy" (and don't consider my 10 year old daughter to be a "little girl"). Non-technically, they will always be our little boys and little girls lol. But I think around age 8 is when I stop thinking of them as "little boy/little girl."

I hope so! Thanks for sharing your story. I think that I'm going to call the doctor's office on Monday when they are open and ask them if they will let me come in ASAP just to do a blood test for hcg levels, even though they don't do the first office visit til 7 weeks. I am also going to pick up a few more tests today and see how they look over the next few days lol.... I will feel reassured if I see one that looks darker again (as opposed to continuing to get lighter or something)! Keep up those good wishes, vibes, prayers etc, I SO want this to work out!

Thank you, everyone. I had one last test lying around so for some reason I decided to take it this morning using first morning urine, around 6:45 AM (yesterday I'd taken it using second morning urine around 10 AM). It looked a little lighter/fainter than yesterday's positive did. I hope that isn't anything to worry about. ETA: (TMI) been having a little brownish spotting still, too, particularly when I wipe. It is so hard not to be paranoid about everything! Sigh.

Of your list, for the girls, I like Annabelle (but I like it spelled Anabel) and Juliet the best. I see you have Laura- personally I like Lauren or Laurel better. Of your boy names, I like Christophe the best (Patrick and William aren't bad either).

My daughter is going into 6th grade doing well with most of her academics, but she's also going into 6th grade not turning 11 until October. We have decided for various reasons (maturity being one, wanting her to do better with and get more out of things like some of her research and writing assignments for another, not really wanting her to be 17 when she graduates for another) to spread her 6th grade year out over a two year period (supplementing with some other things so that it's not TOO light of a year).

Yep. Those are highly personal, highly private, highly inappropriate questions to ask ANYBODY. It is certainly no business or right of the school's to be asking them of anyone, much less a minor child, IMHO. I don't care if my kids already know all the terms, if they've already experienced all of the terms via personal experience, or if they've never heard of them in their lives... no school needs to inquire about anyone's sex life- mine, my child's, anybody's. How intrusive!

It really depends on what it is. Usually, it just becomes apparent if somebody feels way MORE strongly about something than the other person does. There have been times for both of us where we realized the other person was really serious and didn't have intentions of backing down and the other would give in, and vice versa. There are times where we find a way to compromise. I see in your case you said it's about a 15 y/o dating. In that case, I think I would find a way to compromise, and I'd find a way to respect my teen's thoughts and feelings on the subject too (within reason), and I'd try to find a way that I could feel comfortable with something that's probably two against one at this point. Maybe I wouldn't feel comfortable with them doing ABC together but I could be okay with them doing DEF together. Something like that. Good luck with resolving it!

Thanks, all. :) I have a doctor's appointment on July 15th. It's going to be a long four weeks. Every twinge will probably make me paranoid. I just want to hear that everything looks like it should, that there's a heartbeat, etc. Well, you probably know how it is. I appreciate the well wishes, prayers, positive thoughts, etc!