Graduated Elderberries (numero 3)

[BraveLilBear]

Welcome back oh graduated elderberries. Let us discuss the delights of being over-30 first-timers with google obsessions

Is it bad that the first image I got in my head was of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Quod?

Sounds pretty grim. But, like Cavort says, we were all there at one point... it does get better. Honest! I have to say though, I thought I was back in the early stages yesterday when I got on a bus and it smelled like fresh urine.

Turns out the entire bus was also suffering on this occasion, leading to the bus driver stopping at lights and pleading for everyone to open the windows as he 'couldn't cope with the stench on this bus'. Which I thought was a bit mean, but it did help.

Did feel sorry for the poor elderly man who was the culprit - tho everyone was very discreet at breathing a sigh of relief when he got off the bus.

Exciting news about your booking-in and scan - definitely something to look forward to

No it really really does smell of cabbage. And bins. It is a warehouse and the next door premises makes spring rolls. I do have the wolf nostrils symptom but this is real, the whole team is suffering!

Glad you're feeling a bit brighter Cavort. The cabbage thing sounds BAD Quod, hope you're out of there soon, the superhuman sense of smell can be a really debilitating new skill let alone working somewhere actually stinky.

Re: jazz hands, I'm afraid there will be no jazz hands, I'm far more likely to slink to the front looking vaguely embarrassed. I would dearly love to make up something which sounds even vaguely interesting but I'm afraid I have to give a talk about maternity and paternity rights (ridiculous since most of the parents are virtually ready to pop by the time I see them) tax credits, childcare...I see their eyes glazing over as I talk because it's all very very dull but it's not my fault, they make me do it!

Purple I'm sure it will be more interesting than the first aid course we're taking. The trainer is a nice lady, friendly, answers questions and all, but the class is sooooo slow. She's always faffing around, taking ages to cover any topics and half of it is just silly - like looking at pictures of injuries to decide when we can take care of it ourselves and when we should go to hospital. Honestly, I don't need a course to figure out that if there are broken bones sticking out of the skin, hospital is probably a better idea than a band-aid.
Not entirely useless, we do get to practise on the dummies and some info is interesting, but it could all be done in about a quarter of the time.

Another doctor's appointment this afternoon, but I don't expect anything interesting happening there.

Good news you're feeling a bit better cavort. I'm kind of hoping you feel well enough to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine, but too ill to go into work!

quod - a cabbage-smell filled office would be terrible at any time, let alone with a super-human sense of smell. Sounds awful. Oh, and good news re booking in and scan - not long to go now...

purple - will be weird to stand up and teach all your follow 'pupils' - but remember they will all be in awe of how knowledgeable you are - based on my NCT class most people know bugger all about any of this stuff. I feel that I know nothing yet worryingly seemed to know lots more than those around me...

hazle - good luck this afternoon. I was about to moan about how jealous I was of all your checks, then remembered I'm having loads too now. But either way, is always lovely to hear the heartbeat.

I feel knackered today. DP was out and didn't get home until 11.30pm (I can't believe how dull we've become - there once was a time, not very long ago, when that was standard going to bed time, and on going out nights it was a lot later!) and weirdly I couldn't get to sleep without him. I said this morning I feel a bit like I used to when I had to go to work having been out drinking until 3 or 4am. But no, I'd just gone to sleep later than 10pm. I am so dull!

Janey it's not dull - 10pm is the new 2am, dontcha know? Bizarrely, we're the same, we'll put a film on or an episode of a box set on at about 9.30 and by 10 I'll be curled up in DP's arms, asleep. He follows not much later. I think he actually has sympathy tiredness, although he does get up at 6.30am (and I'll stay in bed for a bit longer).

Purple I have to say that jazz hands is my default solution to vague embarrassment but that's the way I cope with awkwardness! I still think it'll be cool tho - a bit like in Love Actually when the band start playing at the wedding.

How was the docs Purple? Hope all is still ok... and that you don't have to recall your 'sticky out bones bad, papercut good' knowledge in the line of fire just yet...

I meant, how was the docs Hazle?

Still here. My doc is well known, Vice President of the national ob-gyn association etc, so I'm lucky from that perspective. But this also means he is always, always late. And I have a class to teach this evening. So hope I get to see him soon or will have to reschedule, which is silly as I'm usually in and out in minutes.

Amazing to have such a brilliant doctor though. TBH you'd have the same if you were here - I LOVE the NHS, and they've been very good to me so far this pregnancy, but I don't think I've had a single appointment run on time to date.

Can't believe you're teaching a class. I can't imagine doing anything other than sitting on the sofa watching shit tv relaxing after work at the moment!

I thought I would have quit teaching by now, but honestly I'm feeling fine, so no reason to. Ok 5 more minutes and I will need to reschedule

Ditto, Janey - NHS tend appts tend to start late, but, apart from GP appt at 24 weeks (usual 5 min allocation), have not once felt rushed or like they didn't want to listen.

In fact, it's been one of the things that's amazed me most from the word go, even when I was in hospital with the other thing - people would ask me a question and then genuinely listen to what I had to say. It sounds terrible, like I have zero faith in the NHS, but it has really blown me away. Very grateful indeed.

Kudos to Hazle - I'm sat here deciding whether to get two buses (walk 400metres), one bus (walk 1200 metres) or walk (walk 3200 metres) home and today, two buses is winning.

I was watching an infomercial this morning while eating my porridge and actually fantasising about doing Insanity.

Easy! Two buses!

Asked the receptionist to reschedule, as I needed to go and there were still 2 people in front of me. But then doc came out and just saw me first, very nice of him. Everything fine, my blood pressure apparently is "not good, it's perfect", as I was told.

Made it to the class with a minute to spare!

(I have the Insanity for days I'm too lazy for gym, it's quite fun, but maybe wait til after the baby if you haven't tried it before )

Buses are my nemesis today - I had to get off the bus on the way home and wretch violently by the bus stop envy
Finally got home and DP bless him has tidied the house, sorted the plumbing, been to the supermarket and made me a hamper of pg-appropriate snacks to see me through as he is away for a couple of days. Lovely man!

Ahh, finally Friday.

By the way, was just thinkging that we've barey had any new graduates from the original thread. And there are a lot of people there, trying. We are really lucky, aren't we?

I second that Hazle. And Friday seems so much better with a bit of sun

I wouldn't have been allowed to join the original thread if I had started TTC a few months later as they now stipulate 3+ months trying as entrance criteria.

But yes, I do feel very lucky and much more aware of how many women are silently struggling to TTC.

I agree Hazle too - found out this week that one of my uncles is trying with his girlfriend - he's mid 40s and she's late 30s (and they're very excited about Baby Bear, bless them) - really hope they fall soon...

Oh Quod public transport sickness is grim but am indeed very at your DH being so fab!

In the end I had a bus fail - got one bus, planning to do the 1200m walk, but decided I coudln't be bothered so would go all the way to the interchange for the two bus plan. Realised that as bus was late, probably wouldn't make connection, so got off bus early, with a view to catching the other on the opposite side of the road. As I got off the bus, the other one passed, so missed that.

Checked times on shelter that claimed there were no other buses (even though I was sure I'd caught later ones from the city centre) so started walking, stopping at Tesco en route for some food. Ended up walking just over a mile. And a bus went past, too. Fail. Least it wasn't raining!

Will definitely save Insanity for a later date Hazle...

I will definitely need the insanity, P90X and all other possible programs after the baby. There are those women who simply lose all the baby weight without doing anything, and then, at the other end of the spectrum there's me. I bet I could walk miles and breastfeed a whole army of babies and still put weight on.
Only way I could lose weight withough doing anything was getting an overactive thyroid, but that won't happen again..

Ugh, thank fuck it's Friday and a bank holiday weekend too, yay! Having a bit of a shitey day at work (long boring tale of woe) to the point that OH is trying to persuade me to hand in my leave card on Tuesday requesting the six weeks leave they owe me for the year which would take me right up to my maternity leave starting and walk out there and then and never go back. No doubt I wont but it's tempting!

Antenatal class last night was ok, the midwife is quite entertaining and funny which helps. I couldn't help being a bit though when she was laughing saying we should be glad we weren't giving birth today as the hospital was full and if anyone else went into labour they'd be making them share beds and how she was running between 5 different women in labour hoping they wouldn't all give birth at the same time, ha ha ha! how hilarious...ummm not really selling it to me as an experience here.

Also, apparently the water birthing pool at the hospital is broken, she didn't seem to think it would be fixed any time soon so if I want to go ahead with my plan to have a water birth I'd have to drive to the next town along to the MLU there...only then I'm removing the option for proper drugs and what happens if something goes wrong...but at least you get one to one midwife care there. I'm all confused now.

I suppose I need to find out how my bloods are going before I make any decisions anyway but my liver function tests have gone back to normal which is a good start, just waiting for my bile acids to come back and then hopefully will have more of a clue what's going on!

Yay to normal bloods Purple although, I'd also be very unimpressed by the attitude shown about giving birth.

Being turned away while in labour is a major concern of mine due to baby boom plus the fact that there are only 20 delivery suites in this city, with an average birth rate of 17 a day in a non baby boom year.

Some of these 17 used to be serviced at a popular and successful MLU, but this was closed two years ago due to lack of staff so if half the world and it's pet goes into labour on the same day as me, my only option would be to drive minimum 35 miles (more like 50) somwhere else.

Oh and there's only one waterpool at current facility, too.

Hope your day at work gets better. Not long til 3-day weekend though...

wait, so what exactly are you supposed to do in such case, Brave? "Oh, no beds, ok I'll just go home and keep my legs crossed then"?

I sincerely hope they have a better plan than that! I will be asking at the antenatal classes...

Do you get a long weekend btw Hazle?

Yay to normal bloods purple and yay to the bank holiday! Working from home today is a relief as someone else in the office has got rubella eek! Like measles, I'm not immune damn it and apparently it's really dangerous for preggers women

Worrying about the full hospital/sharing bed/busy midwife stuff! So a baby boom and measles epidemic - great timing! Wouldn't swap it for the world though despite these things, totally agree about the ttc comments earlier.

We might be knocking our building projects on the head - I've just had two different estate agents round who have told me adding an extension or a loft conversion won't add value. We wouldn't make our money back at all on the downstairs kitchen/dining room extension and would lose money (I had heard this before from a builder). Was surprised at the view on the loft though - they think we would make our money back if we add an extra bedroom/bathroom but for the cost, we're either looking at breaking even realistically in terms of value added or maybe making a small bit of profit over a few years. They weren't saying it just to get me to sell now as I made it clear we won't be ready for a couple of years. Seems strange though doesn't it as I always hear about people adding value by building? purple janey are your projects adding value? They said people often do it to improve living conditions/for more room, not to make money?

Brave no, Monday is a normal working day here. But we already got the Wednesday of this week off, and Thursday of next is a holiday as well.

Alex rubella is indeed dangerous during pregnancy, so I certainly hope that person has not infected anybody else. It would be good to stay home until it's clear that nobody else is sick.

As for renovations, we did a quite massive kitchen/living room renovation just last year and I'm pretty sure it did not add as much value to the house than we spent, so that was never the aim anyway. It certainly improved living conditions though.

I'm sure they're not allowed to 'turn you away' Bear! You might not end up with an en-suite room if they're full but they're not going to tell you to bugger off and give birth in the car park!

Hopefully the fact that my liver results have improved means the drugs they have got me on are working though if my bile levels come back as normal as well I think we'll all frankly be a little bamboozled as to what the hell is going on!

I'm not sure how much value our attic conversion will add, it's very dependent on how we manage to resolve the upstairs layout issues the stairs are now causing as this will be the difference between it still being a three bedroomed house but with a bigger third bedroom rather than a box room or a four bedroomed house but with smaller rooms. Still getting our heads around all of that at the moment. The bonus for us is that as OH is doing most of the work himself we're not investing as much money into having it done in the first place. Unfortunatley it means it will probably be completed when this poor child starts school! We were doing it mostly for our sake rather than the added value anyway though tbh.