The PESH are waddling their way to Christmas & trying not to freak out!

[FrankelInFoal]

The ante-natal fred for BESH graduates.

Recent Grads (aka CRESH)

blonderthanred, boy, born 26th October 2012
FriendofDorothy, boy, born 14th December 2012
QueenRollo, boy, born 21st January 2013
LazyMachine (38) boy EDD 9/2/13 - need an actual arrival date!
CamelKnees (34) EDD 22/04/2013 - need actual arrival date!
HaveALittleFaith (31), Faithlet arrived 14th April 2013
fertilityFTW (34) arrival date needed!
pinkr, (33), girl born 25th August 2013
Jethro (36) boy born 23rd September 2013

Waiting to lay:
Noks - EDD 28/12/2013
Frankel - EDD 4/3/2014
Sinky - EDD 18/3/2014
Ginfox - EDD end April 2014
Kat - EDD needed
Drizz - EDD 7/6/2014
Draf - EDD 19/6/2014
Winks - EDD 29/6/2014

Apologies for any misinformation or omissions!

So sorry, winks! What horrible news :(

Hope the meeting is useful, Jeff!

Oh winks. I'm so sorry. Sounds sadly familiar with my mum. The 6 months will be a tough journey but hopefully she can kick the cancer's arse! I'd suggest she stocks up on ice lollies in case of nausea. My dad had RT and it left him really tired so he didn't do much in the evenings.

Ice lollies - check. Any other top tips? Poor old HWCA, he's had such a poo year with his mum's heart attack and blood clots on her lungs at the start of the year, and his dad deteriorating, and losing our baby, then his mum's cancer. The hysterectomy was meant to sort it out so we could enjoy 2014.

I have to go to work shortly, I've barely slept and I keep crying ffs.

Did you survive the night at work, winks? I still hope 2014 will be much better, even if it hasn't started well, yet...

Work fine but to top it all off, I'm bleeding again this morning.

Oh no, winks, How bad is it? Have you called you MW? :(

No, I spoke to the midwife the last time and all the answers are the same. The bleeding is bright red, a little heavier than before, but not enough to need a pad, no clots either.

Oh winks :( just hang on to the fact that the scan was good and despite previous bleeding. No clots is good.

Oh Winks sorry to hear the bleeding had returned. How long is it since you last bled? Could it be that you are one if the unlucky ones who bleed a bit everytime their period would have been due?

Had my 28 week bloods done today - an armful given to a very grumpy nurse who was muttering about midwives not filling in forms properly & being "a law unto themselves"!

Heh at the bandit midwives frank

Last bleed was about 2 weeks ago. This one stopped pretty quickly, so I'm hoping it didn't mean anything bad. Only 2 weeks until the scan, and we're off to Berlin tomorrow for 2 nights (I did consider not going, but what the hell) which will help pass the time.

winks so sorry to hear your bad news. I hope next year sees her make a great recovery once she has been through the chemo. As for the bleeding, you have had 2 good scans so even with a bit of bleeding the odds are well in your favour. It is a total headfuck regardless though and im sure you must be feeling very worried. Hopefully it will have gone away by the morning. No clots is very good.
have a lovely time in Berlin. We went this time last year and it was very festive and nice (except for the baybee induced sleep deprivation)

Sorry times are tough Winks. Hope mil gets one good news soon and hope the pesky bleeding pisses off as well. I'm just back from Copenhagen for a Christmassy weekend. T'was lovely (think lots of Xmas trees, chestnuts and waffles cooking and lovely chilly cold to wrap up against)

In me world, I'm massive, my boobs are leaking and have realised I've put on 10kg. Arsebadger.

Eeep, winks, it is scary, but odds are it means nothing :) I have a friend who didn't realise she was pregnant until around 20 weeks - she was bleeding on time as per usual so nothing to give the game away for quite a long time! It being short is a good sign too.

MIL is pestering HOTB with unhelpful "ooo it's nearly scan day" comments. He's totally chilled about it (as far as I can tell), but I'm pissed off on his behalf! I may be the most anxious of the two of us, but he could probably do without his mum's anxiety/excitement to deal with as well. She doesn't seem to get that leaving well alone is the single useful thing she could do...

I know what you mean draf i am now wishing we had not told anyone yet. However we have had to get my mum over to babysit on scan day as hospital does not allow children under any circumstances ever. However i am feeling optimistic at the moment. Boobs still feel pregnant at least. I expect i will feel differently on Sunday night but that's scans for you. Last time i even got nervous about a 36 week scan when i could feel the mini kit was quite definitely alive and kicking.

I am seriously having one of those days. I could just cry and cry, and my sister seems to be in a very similar place. Usually we manage to support each other but the pair of us are a nightmare today.

Big hugs dor can you give your sister a hug and cry together for a while? It must be so very hard for your family now especially with Christmas coming up. It will not always be this hard.

Oh Dor I'm sorry. Has anything in particular set things off today? I honestly think that the weather doesn't help our moods.

I was woken up at 3am by what felt like an attempt on the world record for inutero somersaults Gawd knows what that was about!

I had a meeting this morning supposedly about my maternity package, only to be told they still haven't decided what I'm going to get! I'm grateful and all that they've saidci will get something over and above Statutory but I could really do with knowing exactly what so I can start budgeting for my leave!

I don't think anything in particular has set us off - I think it is just that sudden realisation that Mum is never, ever coming back. I will never get a hug off her, never hear her telling me about her day or what she has been doing. I miss just going to her house for lunch and having a coffee with her.

I just feel really robbed today and Dad is feeling quite sad too so it is hitting us all at the same time.

Also, The Mister and I had a big argument after I asked him to get something and he called me a 'dictator who was issuing orders'. I was just really upset by that as I am struggling to keep my head and keep on top of everything. I feel like I have so much to do, and I want to make Christmas as nice as possible and I feel like I am failing in every way.

He asked me to write a list of all the stuff that I want him to do over the weekend when I reminded him that it isn't stuff I want him to do, it is stuff that WE need to do to keep the house that WE live in running. I pointed out to him that it isn't just about me, it is stuff that we need to do for our family.

I just feel like he isn't getting this, oh and then he walked out of the room with a 'fine, whatever' and I told him that there is no way he can behave like his Dad who absents himself from every tough conversation and refuses to talk about it.

I just feel like shit.

I feel sad.

I want a holiday and we can't afford to go anywhere.

And breathe.

Grrr why does he need a list? He is a grown man. You need to find a suitable time to have a calm chat about 50/50 responsibility. If you have to delegate by means of writing lists that still means you are the responsible one and he is just your little helper. Being responsible for something means taking the initiative to get it done. What was he like about this stuff pre baby in your previous houses?

my advice is to try less hard and get less done. To be frank, Christmas isn't going to be easy this year. You busting a gut and spending time you don't have on it wont change that. Keep it simple this year and just get through it as best you can.

He has a much higher tolerance of mess than I do, in fact when he lived alone I am amazed he never ended up with soem terrible illnesses. His room was vile!!!

I am trying not to be unreasonable and making stupid demands with really high standards. I just want stuff to be cleaned occasionally.

Oh dor I sympathise. MSB is the same with mess/jobs. Would never think to change the towels for example. I do them every week! It still such early days with regards to your Mum and this time of year is especially tough. I said to Jimi last weekend just like you did - I would love to chat with Mum, have a cuppa together, go out for coffee. It's totally crap and I think we're entitled to feel short changed. Sometimes I think you have to remind The Mister that it's overwhelming for you and he needs to cut you some slack. Oh and you're not failing (I saw t'other place). If you're getting up each day you're doing well!

Winks a combination of fatigue and meds side effects might make your MIL lose her appetite. I'd suggest orgaj

'Scuse fat fingers!

...organising light meals and getting in build up soups and milkshakes (you can get them from chemists). My Mum found she wanted a variety of drinks as well, J2Os went down especially well.

:(

Oh Dor. You are not failing. It must be so so hard. The PESH have said many wise things. I completely agree with Kat about how writing a list is still being the responsible one. He should be supporting you now more than ever.

Hope today has been a bit better dor

Winks, has that bleeding settled down?

Hags, am I mad to buy a pram for £800 when I could get a perfectly good, new one, in a sale for £350ish? (Bugaboo vs sola spotty black special). We like the first more, but suspect it's style rather than substance... £500 extra, but will be using for 3 yrs...