Karma's a load of old shite! The BESH have gone through a fair old heap of bollocks lately so it's time we had some good news!

[Fabuluce]

In order to join the BESH you MUST be over 30 and TTC for baybee no. 1 for over a year, be ok with swearing, shout CUNT at the world on a daily basis and howling at the moon should be a regular occurrence. BESHtionnaires must be submitted - no admittance allowed without it (we just want to snigger at your lesbian crush - it's true).

Revised BESHtionnare for reference

1. Do you like gin? (This is compulsory, you must say 'Yes')

2. Men - are you a gold digger or a cradle snatching cougar?

3. Baybee-making - to put a baybee in your tumtum, which hole do you use:
   a) weewee
   b) poopoo
   c) foofoo
   d) none, you just pray to the baby Jebus.

4. Testing - when someone wonders if they should test for updiff (pg), do you:
   a) bellow 'POAS!' at them non-stop and punch them repeatedly in the kidneys till they wet themselves anyway.
   b) Sprinkle them with babydust and send them hugs and kisses on lickle baby angel wings.

5. Is R2D2:
   a) an adorable robot from Star Wars.
   b) the source of all evil.

6. Number of pets?

7. Inappropriate (read: weird) crush of shame?

8. Lesbian crush?

9. How much money have you spent on sticks you then urinate on?
   a) Oh nothing, I'll probably catch first time and then get the doctor to confirm it.
   b) Over 100 quid
   c) I opened an account on ebay solely for the purpose of purchasing sticks

10. Which of these sentences is appalling:
    a) Off to see the consultant today!!! So excited!!!!!
    b) Gud luck hun sprinkling babydust for ya lol xxx
    c) both of the above

11. How barren are you?
    a) childless and TTC for at least one year
    b) one child and TTC #2 for at least two years
    c) I've been trying for 2 cycles and the wait is driving me mad!

If (c) then the BESH is not the thread for you.

... Despite the ordeal to get there. That is some that there schedule you've been through. I also thought IUI was the light option, perhaps it appears not!

Bloody hell Barking it's been really tough by the sounds of it. It does sound like a pain in the arse...but of course will be totally worth all the inconvenience of early morning hospital appointments.

You are def PUPO! (I only learned that one yesterday)

And nice to see you back chezza. You are sounding positive, upbeat and happy

Thanks for the toe holds and good luck wishes

Nice to see you cherry (xpost earlier). You're right, it'll all be worth it if when I get my bfp .
fankle I think pupo is reserved for ivf as they have a fertilised embryo put in. I've just had the sperm cleaned and deposited in the right place, which is why I'm going for potentially pregnant instead . Or probably pregnant. Or positively pregnant. I think I'd definitely be able to be the last one if sheer bloody mindedness power of the mind could get me there!

Keeping everything crossed for you Barking. I'm 2 dpo today so we're about the same point. I'm going to try really hard not to symptom spot this month, and we're going away over half term which will help give me something else to focus on. I'll probably definitely be on Google every 5 minutes looking up some imaginary symptoms though!

Bugs - on the advice from clinics - is that general advice for everyone who is ttc, or is it mainly relevant for those having IVF/IUI? The bath thing is worrying me - I have a bath every day as we don't have a shower. Have I been doing it wrong all this time?? Is it because of the heat or the water?

cunty a colleague who knows about the IUI came to me today and asked me how I was feeling - any signs yet?!

Another colleague who had heard I was leaving came to congratulate me for getting out and said 'you never know, you could end up with a baby when you get away from teaching stress'. Hmm. Cheers for that.

fankle update us tomorrow! Hope you see a lovely strong heartbeat .

Agree with Bugs about the bath thing - ok in the run up - ie you want to all you can to keep your womble warm when your egg growing (this makes sure your womble blood is flowing well) but when doing invasive procedures there is a risk of infection and you don't want to overcook the embie so avoiding baths is best at that point and quite frankly when you've just gone through iui or ivf the last thing you want to do is risk anything so it's easiest to err on the side of caution!

Congrats on being PPUPO frog - that's potentially pregnant until proven otherwise

I finally saw my GP today and she thinks my constant whole cycle cramping is probably endometriosis. So I've got to go back in 2 weeks time (the earliest appointment!) to have a full check up and potentially get on the list for a laparoscopy. Frustratingly all my adult life I've had private health care through work but now I'm not working so I'll have to wait another 3 months for that to be done before we can go ahead and do another round of ivf as that could have a big effect. I can hear my womb ticking away like a time bomb saying 'hahaha fuck you' and flicking me the V's. Bastard.

Ooh Fab that's really good you're finally getting somewhere. I'm sure the laparoscopy is what did the trick for me....either that or a 4th round of clomid or the knowledge I was about to start getting proper help via iui.

To be honest I didn't really think I had endometriosis...I sort of embellished my symptoms (I did have some cramping throughout the last half of my cycle and sechs was occasionally painful...and I guess those are actual symptoms). I asked my FC if he would do a laparoscopy and he agreed. It took just under 3 months and I had it at the end of January. Diffed in April! Research shows that women who've had a lap to remove endo are more likely to get diffed in the 6 months following the op.

This is a good thing! Shame about the wait but going private would prob be v v expensive. 3 months is not too bad though, and you might get in sooner than that. I'm so glad I had it.

to everyone's wombles>

Yes Bugs it's this evening after work. Shitting a brick tbh!

Can I ask, what did you do about exercising in the first trimester? I've done a couple of gentle yoga classes so far but am normally a (fairly) regular gym goer and do spinning, circuits, body pump etc. haven't done any of that since The BFP and am sort if missing the endorphin boost. However, am scared to get my heart rate up too much...last time I was diffed I exercised as usual and it didn't end well. I know that's not the reason I miscarried but am conscious of it all the same....but I dont really want to do nothing for another month (because this time i will actually get a baybee, oh yes I will).

Sounds a lot like me apart from the dog walking

Sitting around, occasional walks, bit of gardening and my yoga class, which is more about deep breathing and meditation on chakras. It's very calming but a bit woo. The teacher also does differ yoga but you can't start that until 16 weeks. That just seems like forever away..I will be 7 weeks tomorrow.

No dizzy spells yet for me and so far only one bad spell of nausea. But hungry every couple of hours, feel funny if I don't eat...and a lot more tired than usual. Boobs up and down - fine in morning, a bit sore in evening.

Roll on 5pm

fankle this is something I'm currently agonising over. I'm usually very active - circuit training, running, climbing, biking etc. It's normal for me to be doing something active 4 or 5 days a week, and that doesn't include walking the dog. Last bfp I carried on as normal, having read that keeping active and exercising during pregnancy makes for a better birth and faster post birth recovery. But obviously like you it didn't end well. I have no idea whether it was related or not, but I feel like wrapping myself in cotton wool this time. I went on a 10k run in the heat about a week after my bfp and got very dizzy, maybe I should have stopped running? It's already difficult though, I've cancelled last night's bike ride and tonight's climbing session, but I don't feel like just walking the dog will keep me fit and healthy through a pregnancy given my usual levels of exercise. The nurse, when I asked her after the IUI what I should do, told me to carry on as normal. When I questioned whether this still applied if normal was quite a lot of exercise she just said 'don't push it'. Not helpful! I'd love to be able to do gentle exercise and know that I was doing good, not potentially harming anything that might be growing!!

I might do longer walks with the dog and take up swimming. I'm assuming swimming is good? No impact, weight supported etc?

Jeez Bugs...and so it will be for the rest of your life forever and ever. Amen.

Barking swimming is encouraged (I must get down to my local pool as my gym doesn't have one...I've got a cheapie gym membership) as is walking and yoga.

I totally know your angst about overdoing it and not knowing how much is too much. I'm clearly not as active as you but I figure I'll take it easy until after 12 weeks, then I hope to be in a better place mentally to step thing up a bit. But I certainly wont be running! I feel like that was my main main mistake last time...and high impact aerobic classes. I've been doing much less running this last year anyway, and they say you shouldn't take up any new activity if you're not used to it. I have a friend who is a personal trainer and she practically ran a marathon around NYC at 7 wks pregnant, and get this...she did it whilst on holiday! She and her equally running-mad partner figured it would be a great way to see the sights so they booked an all day running tour. That is madness in my book.

As for climbing, I think anything where you risk falling or bumping/hurting yourself is to be avoided. I am going to try to find out if cycling is ok...I imagine it is. I've already done a long bike ride and two 11 mile walks, but nothing in the last 2 weeks.

I think it's ok to lose some of your fitness if it puts your mind at ease a bit. If you're already fit, it will be easier to get back into it when the dangerous time has passed. I really really hope you have a good embie in there!! PPUPO!

^

Heart beat and measuring spot on for my dates.
Hooray!!!

Hurrah Fankle, that's great news! Do pop in and mark your spot on the PESH fred when you feel brave enough

Amazing!! That must have been just awesome to see .

Hurray! Another result!

That's great fankle!

The exercise discussion is interesting. I usually walk loads, and gym/run about 3 times a week. On the pregnancy that ended in mc, I carried on my usual gym schedule, but stopped running.

This time, I intended to carry on but things kept getting in the way. I got my bfp just before Xmas and then had 2 weeks off work to use up my annual leave (my gym is by the office, so that meant I didn't go). I was so nervous at this point that I didn't mind taking it easy until I had had my 6 week scan. On my second day back at work after Xmas I took in my gym kit and... started bleeding that day. The bleed lasted from 6 and a half to 9 and a half weeks. And then I had a week of work travel. In the late first tri/early second tri I was too nauseous to move in the evenings, let alone work out. Then my office moved so I trialled a new gym and did a couple of light sessions in March. Then I had a holiday (lots of swimming) and more work travel. I finally joined a new gym this week and have started swimming (which I used to love) and feel so much better for it. So in short, I have been a lot less active than usual. I'm not sure if it has helped the pregnancy get this far or whether it is just coincidence, but I feel like I complete wobble-bottomed lard arse. I've never not worked out and I can feel all my muscle tone melting away. I hate it, but won't take up anything more strenuous than swimming now after such a long break. We are looking to move at the moment and I have put a spare room to use as a gym on the list of non-negotiables (because I won't want to gym by the office and come home late once centime arrives) as I really need and want to get back in shape.

Gosh that was long-winded!

Congrats Fankle what a wonderful thing to see