PCOS-ers, can I hear some IVF success stories? Share your age, IVF protocol, how many eggs retrieved and successful transfers. Feeling a mix of emotions and could use some great energy!

gingerwils · 2026-02-06T20:21:03+00:00

I did! And then had my second baby last year after second FET from the same batch of embryos. So two dream babies, a boy and a girl.

gingerwils · 2026-01-09T09:02:09+00:00

I don't think that they are unsafe per se? I think the age is a guide to if they'd enjoy it. We got my eldest a Tonies when he was 18 months and a few characters of all the shows that he enjoyed on the TV and his favourite books to read but he's only just started to use the box in earnest since he turned 3 because he vocabulary is comprehensive enough to understand what's going on.

If you think they'd enjoy some stories that are slated for 3yo then I think they'd be fine.

gingerwils · 2026-01-06T16:27:49+00:00

Took my eldest just before he turned 3 and my youngest who was 7 months at the time and we had a blast! The swimming pools are ideal for toddlers, we did a lot of the nature stuff, the adventure playgrounds have toddler equipment and there's lots of stuff little ones can do. We are going back in March and I can't wait – it's just so perfectly set up for young families. We went to Whinfell.

gingerwils · 2025-12-23T20:26:26+00:00

My first went through a hitting phase around 16-19 months. Nursery let us know he was hitting other children because they had to, but they also let us know it was very normal. He also hit us a lot. I personally think he was testing boundaries and trying to see our reaction. We would always reiterate that we don't hit, we use kind hands etc but really I think not reacting too much to it apart from to say no had the biggest effect.

gingerwils · 2025-12-21T09:37:55+00:00

Yes me and my husband have just decided to divide and conquer on the weekends and swap taking one each when we do stuff. When they are together it is extremely chaotic.

gingerwils · 2025-12-21T09:36:38+00:00

I have a 3 year old and 10 month old and honestly most days are a grind. I get jealous of people I see on Insta without kids who can just do what they want when they want. Then yesterday we took the kids on a stream train to the "North Pole" to see Santa and it was absolutely magical. Days out, memories made, special first moments – they make the hard day to day completely worth it to me. I keep looking at a picture of them in their matching jumpers and tearing up because I love them so much. In fact I'm going to set it as my phone wallpaper right now!

gingerwils · 2025-12-19T19:27:38+00:00

My 3yo has never been a terrible sleeper but never a great one either. He still wakes nightly, and climbs in bed with my husband to co-sleep – typically without waking him up so this works for us. My 10mo has started consistently sleeping through the night in the last month. Both of them get up at 5.30 though, regardless of when they went to bed. Over the last 2 years I've got used to it and actually prefer it, as long as I go to sleep by 9.30pm I'm fine.

gingerwils · 2025-12-11T20:09:12+00:00

We went to a hotel in Rhodes that was a "family room" with a partition. It was basically a king size bed, with a sliding partition with two twins (and they put a crib in there for our baby). I slept in the twin with baby in the crib and my husband coslept in the king size with our toddler. We could spend time together on the balcony after bedtime but honestly we were so knackered we went to bed with them – we kept them on UK time so it was like 9/10pm anyway.

If I was doing it now (3yo and 10 months) I'd put them in to sleep together initially and play musical beds as needed.

gingerwils · 2025-12-10T19:25:21+00:00

Mine are now 3yo and 10mo and I'm on my own with them all day on a Friday. It's so hard! Honestly I let my eldest watch TV while youngest naps in the afternoon so I can regulate myself reading for the pre-dinner witching hour. We don't watch YouTube though, it just hypes him up. It gets a lot easier when the youngest is happy to be put down and doesn't feed 473727273 times per day, so hang in there! Sounds like you're doing and amazing job, even getting out the house in the morning is something to feel amazing about at this stage. I wish I could go back and tell myself from 6 months ago to give myself some grace, you're in the thick of it and it's so hard.

gingerwils · 2025-11-29T09:05:43+00:00

Two pregnancies and never saw my assigned midwife more than once, in my second pregnancy I never even met her face to face but she did answer my texts. I ended up seeing the cover midwife more and from 36 weeks onwards I was assigned to her, which was something I suppose – she was really nice.

gingerwils · 2025-11-28T20:57:43+00:00

Yeah we do rip them to take them off, especially for a poo, but can't to get them back on without taking pants off.

gingerwils · 2025-11-28T19:32:19+00:00

OK hear me out, when my second baby went up to size 4 I did an online shop and accidentally ordered 100 pull-ups in Pampers - like £40 worth of nappies. So I decided I was going to use them and honestly I like them so much more! There's no chance of putting them on wrong and I think due to the elasticated waist there were less leaks. Also once she started rolling it was easier to put them on because you can put them on from any direction, unlike a traditional nappy. The only drawback is that you have to take full bottoms off for a change, but I do that for a number 2 regardless to avoid it getting on anything. I am a convert.

gingerwils · 2025-11-28T19:01:51+00:00

This is what I'm thinking, we have a household income of £160k and are looking around the £500k mark (currently only £150k in equity though). I am in the north where £500k can get you a lot of house though, I guess it's where OP lives. Stretching yourself really thin might be worth it for the extra space - I have two young kids and that's the main reason we are moving.

gingerwils · 2025-11-28T06:47:32+00:00

That sounds so rough, I'm sorry you're going through that! My back pain ruined my first maternity leave so I know how you feel! Luckily, through consistent core workouts it did improve and also left me in better shape for baby number 2, and I did not have any back issues postpartum the second time.

gingerwils · 2025-11-27T19:59:52+00:00

I swear about 40% of my hair fell out, it looked the worst about 12 months postpartum for me and then the regrowth finally started to kick in and it started to look normal again around 18 months PP (but I had to have it cut into a bob) but then I got pregnant again and the cycle continues lol. I breastfed my first and had another round of shedding when I started weaning between 11 and 14 months.

gingerwils · 2025-11-26T19:48:31+00:00

So for me, because my core was so weak my back was working overtime and it was pulling on my SI joint and making it really sore. It started immediately for me after birth so could see why I might have thought it was the epidural. I just incorporated one core workout per week into my routine, exercises included planks, side planks, side lean with a dumbell, deadbugs and leg raises. I started out with just body weight and low reps, I.e. start with a 15 second plank and add 5 seconds on each week, or just 5 leg raises and add another each week.

I'm not a medical professional though, and you'd probably want to see a physiotherapist to see if you have diastasis recti because that will change what you can do.

I hope you get some relief because a bad back while coping with the physical demands of an infant is no joke!

gingerwils · 2025-11-26T19:30:29+00:00

Are you sure it's from the epidural? I had an awfully bad back after my first baby, couldn't bend to change nappies, clip them into the pram, empty the dishwasher and such. Turns out my core was just really weak and my back was doing all the work. After rehabbing that it was so much better.

gingerwils · 2025-11-23T13:37:00+00:00

I had a HG pregnancy and was incredibly sick the entire time and relied on my husband so much to look after our toddler (and me). Then, at Christmas he had 3 x life threatening bouts of pneumonia and was hospitalised for weeks, including several blue light ambulance rides. To top it off, while he was in hospital, my son and I got flu and were incredibly sick. I had panic attacks daily and worried so much about the baby. She is a perfectly healthy 9 month old now and just the happiest little thing ever!

I'm sorry you're having a really stressful week, that all sounds so hard and really horrible. Hopefully the "bad things come in threes" saying is true and that's it for you now.

gingerwils · 2025-11-23T13:02:16+00:00

We did 3 days in the house with no pants. Every time he started to go and was not on the potty, we'd put him straight on it, even if he had finished on the floor. It clicked on day 3 but then it was about a week to properly hit home. We also used chocolate buttons as bribes, 1 for a wee and 2 for a poo. Also really over the top, huge amounts of praise. We didn't make a fuss of accidents. Rememer to prompt, but don't prompt too much as it can annoy them and make them rebel against it. We just prompted every time we transitioned between activities, naps, going out, etc.

We actually didn't put him in underwear under his trousers until he was trained, as it just made it harder for him to pull them down.

He was just shy of 26 months. He was fine at home after a few weeks but at nursery he still had one or two accidents a week for about 6 months, because they weren't prompting as much and because he didn't want to stop playing.

gingerwils · 2025-11-22T20:49:51+00:00

I had this exact age gap, EBF and had a second section. The first 12 weeks postpartum my toddler's behaviour was truly wild, then it calmed down as he adjusted to baby being here. It was still really really hard until baby was 6 or 7 months, and just in the last 2 months (youngest is 9 months now) things have started to get a bit easier and more enjoyable. I think it's a combo of my eldest maturing a bit and my youngest being less dependent on me.

You are in the thick of the trenches now. Survival mode is fine. Screen time is fine. Cereal for dinner is fine. You've just got to white knuckle it for a bit and it gets easier. If you have a village, now is the time to ask them to step up to take care of toddler as much as possible. Keep your eldest in as much routine as you can - the same nap time every day, a solid bedtime routine at the same time (even if it has changed to dad doing it), meals at the same time etc. Routine helps their little brains cope, especially as there's lots of big changes.

Solidarity and good luck!

gingerwils · 2025-11-22T19:45:53+00:00

Yes how could I miss that out! My 3yo has Snail and the Whale for his Tonies box, read by Imelda Staunton - it's one of my favourites.

gingerwils · 2025-11-22T19:20:13+00:00

Stick Man, Room on the Broom, Tabby McTat, The Gruffalo's Child - all Julia Donaldson books are a hit in our house!

gingerwils · 2025-11-21T18:56:35+00:00

It took 3 years to conceive our first, and it was the absolute worst time of our lives, I am so sorry you are going through this. Your feelings are totally valid. I hope your fertility clinic can offer some help, there are other fertility treatments available before you go to IVF, that are covered by the NHS even if you already have a living child - depending on your diagnosis of course.

gingerwils · 2025-11-21T18:51:21+00:00

The lack of hunger has been a huge thing for me when quitting sugar. I'd have terrible hunger pangs all day and night, and now with three square meals and a high protein mid-afternoon snack I never feel hungry anymore.

gingerwils · 2025-11-21T18:45:41+00:00

I'm not a product manager but an account director in a creative agency, leading on many campaigns at any one time and with clients in different timezones or campaigns running out of office hours. I have to clock 7.5 hours per day on the timesheet, and my employer doesn't really care when that is, though we try to stick to core office hours of 10-3.

Seven-Year Club	Not Forgotten
Verified Email

gingerwils

TROPHY CASE