Keith's BPG II

[KittyKatSmile]

@AliciaWhiskers @CornishMaid1 @Ginandtonic31 @Cauliflower82 @Welshpugmomma @Mrbay @Zest11 @RRoonilWazlib @Weenumpty

Hope this works xx

@KittyKatSmile I'm sorry to hear that. As you probably know there are so many laws in place to protect pregnant women/women on maternity leave. Still, it must be incredibly unpleasant to experience. I remember you saying that they might let you work just a couple of days in London and then more from home in Guernsey when you return. Could it not be that they are starting to set up/make preparations for that? I hope you are okay xx

Thanks all for the well wishes. Sorry for the delay -I started writing on a Monday and then lost it! It all went well thanks. All looked healthy etc and....it’s a boy! Really excited as we lost my brother several years ago and it just feels right to be having a boy. Sounds silly-but feel like it’s a gift from him.

I am relaxing a little more now and have told people at work. Feels a bit strange. The spotting seems to have stopped -thankfully -that was really keeping me from feeling positive. Have my follow up scan for the second half of harmony test on Tuesday -which hopefully will be lovely and I’m relaxed for. After that tho -I’m actually quite looking forward to not have any scans booked in for a while. Although I’m sure I will cave around 16 weeks. Those of you that are further along in your pregnancies -what weeks did you have scans? Did you add any private ones in?

Hope everyone is doing well-I cannot wait for the holidays! @KittyKatSmile so sorry work is so rubbish.

@mouse1234567 congratulations! And another little boy! I am now moving that way in my head as well. Hopefully you can start to relax a bit now. I started to feel my Tiny Dancer move at 16 weeks which gave me a lot of comfort and I didn't have any scans between 12 and 20 weeks and felt fine about it (think my NHS 12 week scan was around 14 though anyway!)

I'm adopting teacher holidays this Christmas and will be breaking up on Friday 13th! Then only back to work at my desk for another 2 weeks or so in Jan before I move to my home office in Guernsey...

Love to you all x

@mouse1234567 what a wonderful update, I'm so happy for you. And I am so so glad you are able to relax now and the spotting has stopped for you. It doesn't sound like it will be too long before you feel the baby move around too. Such lovely news.

@KittyKatSmile Good for you, it sounds like work have been difficult so good for having a nice long break. And that will be nice working away from staff who are being unpleasant. Almost like working in a different country

We don't finish until the 20th Dec and I'm really struggling with the tiredness. Thankfully the nausea and sickness is no longer constant but by 12pm I am ready for bed!! Mouse, I have no idea how you managed Ofsted a few weeks ago. I am leaving at 4 and napping when I get home!

@Zest11 @mouse1234567 I haven’t posted for a while but I am so happy that everything is progressing well with you both. When would your due dates be? Mine is 18th March. Like Zest said, I can’t believe you managed Ofsted Mouse. I’ve been struggling this week off and I have phoned in sick twice, stupidly not on consecutive days which I guess is bad for sick leave - I’m totally full of cold. Usually I’d just soldier on but Pip comes first.

@KittyKatSmile it’s really not long for you now. You’re almost at the finish line there so only a few more weeks of crappy work and then a total change.

For movements, I didn’t confident feel anything until about 20 to 21 weeks pregnant - I used to worry about this constantly but now I feel him wriggling and kicking about every day and it’s lovely. My husband and I sing to him on a nighttime and he always thrashes about them - shut up parents, embarrassing so and so’s.

Are people looking forward to Christmas this year? I typically for the past few years have always got sad round this time of year, although I do and always have loved it. I’m so looking forward to this one 🎄

@Cauliflower82 yes you have to put Pip first, especially in our job. It is "unforgiving" as my friend says whenever you have anything else going on in your life. Don't worry about sick leave, we get so much of it unless you're not in the state sector. 18th March won't be long after Christmas. Will you be on countdown? Have you decided how much/what/when you will take with maternity leave? Our baby is due early July but we have our 12 week scan in just under 2 weeks so I'm still not believing anything until then. Not thinking about Christmas yet (other than the 2 weeks off work and the time I get to sleep!!) as our scan is the week before that and I am more focused on getting to that. My husband however is saying how he can't wait for when we have our own family and the children get excited about Christmas :) To be fair, I don't feel anywhere near as bitter/resentful as I have previously but even typing that makes me anxious about jinxing things !

Does anyone who had the nhs combined scan know what happens? I read something about nuchal measurements and blood testing. Are they able to give a fairly definitive answer on the day or do you have to wait for the bloods to come back? Again, I read somewhere it can take 2 weeks or 5 days! I would hate to tell family and friends over xmas only to get a letter arrive through the post to be told some bad news a few weeks later. Obviously I am hoping this is all 'just' anxiety.

@Zest11 I was exactly the same leading up to the twelve week scan - it feels such a wait too from seven weeks to twelve when were used to getting them all of the time, daily in some cases. I’m planning on leaving at Feb half term and I just put in my matb1 form last week too so I’m feeling a bit more sorted; I’ve been in countdown for a while now tbh. School has been incredibly stressful so far this year with so many assessments to mark - I can barely keep my head above water. Over the course of three weeks, I had over 270 English assessments to mark so lots and lots of detailed marking required.

On the he says of the 12 week scan, they did tell us that everything was looking very good and they had no concerns. They did some measurements and we got a letter about two weeks later saying low risk for everything. My husband was very worried about these results, bless him, but I felt pretty confident with what the sonographer has said and didn’t worry so much. Ooh and they took a blood test from me too.

Hi ladies, sorry for the break , hope you are well sorry to hear about your shitty time at work @KittyKatSmile but only next week to go... @Zest11 i remember feeling completely exhausted at the beginning and I wasn't even working! Hats off to you ladies not able to take nanna naps on demand ;) I also had the same take on the screening tests to do the NHS and then proceed with the harmony if needed later, yeah they check the measurements at the back of the baby's neck and run that alongside the blood test it took me a while to get results they were very blaise about it and said if you don't hear anything it's fine... Not the most reassuring with how things are in the NHS(just meaning things are sometimes lost etc)

Don't get me wrong I'm missing the wonderful NHS now that we're stateside! I finally have my OBGYN and hospital sorted now which is a relief I had my appt last week which him and he seemed nice enough, not sure how easy it'll be to have a natural delivery here mind... I also have a glucose test next week to test for gestational diabetes which they do as standard here.

How big is everyone getting now- I'm feeling huge they said baby looks pretty big! I've put on about 25lbs and still got months left haha, due date 11th March.

Glad you are feeling excited @Cauliflower82 our Baba is a bit of a party animal in the evenings too! Hope Ginandtonic is doing ok haven't seen you post in a while x

I'm really glad @AliciaWhiskers you are giving the relationship another shot, all the best and enjoy Christmas :)
@Mrbay you honestly sound like the most positive person I could ever meet- I could do with a large dose of it at times!
@mouse1234567 glad to hear your doing well and just keeping everything positive :)

Sorry for the long post but tried not to miss off anything!

Hope you enjoy my pooch celebrating Christmas ;)

Hey all!!

Sorry, I've been a bit off talking about babies and IVF, I needed a little break.

But I am back in the swing of things again, I'll be back to injecting and throwing things up my backside at the end of the month - woohoo!! lol!
Regarding why we have them up either of our pockets as I did ask, research shows that injection is the best absorbed by the body, but the combo of some injections plus arse play is the same (and cheaper!). Oral tablets aren't as well absorbed.

thankfully the clinic are allowing me to use my left over drugs for the next cycle (I mean lets give the NHS a little break from the costs!).

Thank you all for all the well wishes.

This is TMi and maybe sensitive, but how was the next period for those who had a miscarriage? I feel this is heavier than the miscarriage oh and the puppy LOVES the used towels (vomit!)

You'll all be pleased to hear that I've been celebrating for you all, and managed to give myself a good few days of hangovers following the xmas celebrations.

@Welshpugmomma - your tree is AMAZING!! mine is staying in the loft where the puppy cannot attack it!!

Hi all, have sent a message to the clinic this morning saying that we are going to give our FET a go in the New Year. Eeeeek! Feeling a bit nervous about it as we won't try another fresh cycle if this one doesn't work, but I felt even worse about the possibility of that little frostie never having a chance so will give it everything and hope for the best!

Fingers crossed for your next cycle too @Mrbay

@aliciawhiskers - that's a positive step forward, fingers crossed that this time it all slots in to place for you

@Cauliflower82 thank you for your reply, that's so helpful and reassuring you felt the same as me. I hope the last few weeks at work were okay. With intense essay writing subjects like ours the marking can be so onerous! We have made it now though and if I was you I'd be taking it easy now and for the 6 weeks after Christmas! :) Have you got much planned for the break or just taking it easy?

@Welshpugmomma so lovely to hear from you and I looove the picture of your dog! Out of curiosity why do you think it will be difficult for a natural birth? Is it because of the IVF? My obs said that because of IVF I will be induced at 40 weeks (if I make it to then) which I'm actually quite happy about! I will also get extra scans further down the line to monitor growth apparently.

@Mrbay I am glad you are enjoying the festive season for us all and I am pleased to see that you'll be back to IVF-ing in the next week or so. What have you been up to over the last few weeks? How is your pup getting on?

@AliciaWhiskers I'm so pleased to read your message. I think I would feel the same as you about giving it a chance! Have you been given any dates yet?

We had our 12 week scan the other day and it was okay. They looked at all the structures and were happy with that (we were given a wave!) but couldn't date it or do any of the screening tests due to bad positioning on the baby's part. I drunk more water, went for a walk and then the baby went into an even worse position!! We have been given a new appointment for 3 weeks to try again and have a quad test instead. However my anxiety levels will not cope with that so we are going to get a NIPT test done tomorrow but probably won't get the results for a couple of weeks as it's Christmas and bank holidays etc. The sonographer did say a few times she was not concerned but I am pretty frustrated regardless.

Is anyone doing anything nice over Christmas? I am soooo glad to have a few weeks off work. I am looking forward to just resting and catching up on sleep. We were going to visit family (other end of the country) but I am still feeling and being sick so it is probably best to avoid travel. I hope you all enjoy yourselves and have a wonderful time! Xxxx

Hello! Wow I've missed so much! I haven't been getting updates or anything!! I've tried to catch up so I apologise now if I miss anyone!!

@AliciaWhiskers really pleased to hear you're giving both another shot - relationship and frostie. Fingers crossed 2020 brings you everything!

@Zest11 Ah yes awkward baby. I still have one now at nearly 29 weeks. She face plants the placenta at every opportunity. I hope your NIPT goes well.

@Mrbay Jealous of your drinking. I'm missing it now! I hope you keep us updated with how you're doing!

@Welshpugmomma I hear it's very different over there and doctor led! How are you enjoying being there?

@Cauliflower82 Sorry you've felt unwell. Are you better now?

As for me, I'm almost 29 weeks and feel huge but everyone says I'm really neat. She's very high and upfront. Although I'm struggling to find a dress for New Year's Eve as everything I order doesn't fit! I'm feeling great, just like the normal me really (hope I haven't jinxed that) no tiredness etc, which is just as well as I don't really finish for Christmas! I'm working tomorrow (Xmas eve) have Xmas day and Boxing Day off and then back to work 27th. I've requested I finish work at 39 weeks and booked a week of leave before that so will finish last Friday in Feb at 38 weeks. I've been very lucky as I've just been able to work straight through without any sick days touch wood.

We've just finished painting the baby's bedroom tonight! I now need to order furniture but waiting for money to recoup in the new year as this month we've decorated two guest bedrooms too and spent money on them and still need more furniture. And I've two pay days until maternity leave!! Hopefully we will get her room done soon.

I can't wait for Christmas! I'm so looking forward to my dinner!!

@Ginandtonic31 so good to hear from you and all of your plans. A tip for you on dresses (and don't roll your eyes, I totally did when I heard this but it's worth a shot). Have a look on boohoo.com. A lot of their stuff is utter dross but order a load of it and you might find some gems. I ordered around 6 dresses before Christmas and 2 of them I love! There is a burgundy velvet one with sort of puff sleeves which is gorgeous as well as a sparkly number with batwing sleeves which even my mother loves!!

I am in Guernsey, have just finished the nursery (well, major things anyway) leading both of my parents to have a little cry. I am knitting like a mad thing to cover all of these babies we've got in here!!

Lots of Christmas love to you all x

Hi everyone, I just wanted to come on and say Merry Christmas to the bp girls who’ve literally been a huge part of my life this year. I hope you’re all doing well and you all have a lovely day. Everything is great here. Last night at mass I just felt so incredibly lucky and it’s amazing how most of the year just feels like an absolute blur. I may start crying again... I appear to be very emotional 😂 Pip is clearly a sensitive boy.

@Mrbay I hope that the injections start well now that the end of the year is approaching I guess you’ll be totally gearing up for it. Best of luck 💕

@Welshpugmomma it looks like you’re having an absolute blast right now!! Life is amazing. I love that we’re following each other on insta so we can keep up with each other’s life. Anymore insta buddies, just message me ☺️ Enjoy your traditional American Christmas in the sun ☀️

@AliciaWhiskers I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband are back on and giving that frostie a go. Best of luck to you both, I hope that you get this 💕

@Zest11 I remember @Ginandtonic31 and her baby being naughty too. At least you’ll get to see baby again very soon. Pip just seems to be an exhibitionist at scans - the sonographer keeps commenting too 😂. We’ve not got much planned over the holidays, sleep, eat, see friends and family and be with out beautiful dog 🐕. Take lots of care of yourself and little one, always just do what’s best for you re travelling etc. Although Christmas is great, it can no doubt be incredibly stressful too.

@Ginandtonic31 I’m such a loser but elasticated dresses having become my best friends. I’m not loving maternity ones though - I’m a short arse and they all go past the knee, not the look for little old me with a massive bump 😂. I’ve just upped my size (a fair few times) 😆. You just sound so positive and it’s so lovely to read - you’ve come so far and I’m so happy for you.

@KittyKatSmile I’m saving the board leader until last 😂. I hope I’ve not missed anyone. I must say that doing the nursery has been my favourite part so far and my mum has been pretty emotional too. I hope you’re settling down to your new routine well.

Sending lots of love to you all ☺️

Hey, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I did but I are so much I felt like my skin would tear off! I put so much bio oil on that night as I was convinced I would wake up with stretch marks!! I was back at work Friday so back to normal eating. So hopefully can minimise any damage!!

@KittyKatSmile and @Cauliflower82 I ended up putting an order in at Jojo Maman Bebe and Seraphine for dresses. I now have two options but think I'm swaying towards the cheaper Jojo one with nice heels and earrings!!

I feel like I'm huge and too big now. I don't know!! I might post a photo so you can tell me?! My legs have also started hurting and my hips too. I was doing so well!

@Ginandtonic31 oh yes, please post a photo!! I spent most of my Christmas break knitting! We've now got around 15 completed projects. One for Pip, Mini-Gin and Pugette (do we know what that one is @Welshpugmomma or shall I do you a neutral?!)

I think I've got carpal tunnel syndrome. Wake up every morning and in the night with numb hands. Most annoying, although not overly painful.

I had a growth scan yesterday and baby is 70th centile. I had expected smaller I think but good to know all is going well. Back to work tomorrow for a few weeks before the big move...

How was everyone else's Christmas?

This is one this morning. I feel jeans make me look bigger? I think they compress everything into a solid shape? I don't know 😂

@Ginandtonic31 awww that's so lovely. Everyone's different but it looks right. Have you typed in on Pinterest "bump by week" and compared yourself to the pictures for the week you are?? So glad you had a nice Christmas. Thanks for sharing the bio oil tip...I had no idea where to begin with that market! Are you and @cauliflower82 getting growth scans too because of IVF? I like how we have one face planter and one exhibisionist...funny! Mine will apparently start at week 28.

@KittyKatSmile aww that must have been nice to see baby again! And reassuring I expect :) Do you think you will cave in and find out the gender before the birth? I hope work goes okay although I remember you saying you will be working from home for a bit first? That could be easier to cope with. I hope your boss decides on a "be nice" approach for her new year's resolution!

Christmas was lovely. We went to some friends and were given a real feast. It was truly scrumptious and I have missed it everyday since!!! Thankfully the sickness spared me in the afternoon. We were meant to go and see family but I couldn't travel the hours away they lived due to the sickness. In fact, week 12 was so so grim. Every. Blinking. Day. I am not sure if I should mention something at my next mw appointment at 16 weeks or just suck it up? I don't think there's anything they can do though. Often the nausea lasts all day despite being sick

@Ginandtonic31you look so neat! I'll post mine in a mo I'm positively massive with my "big" baby... Got another scan on the 8th so will see what they say then. Also bad news this week I failed my GTT by like 7pts meaning I have to go back for a 4 hour test now (4blood tests fml) :(if I was in the UK I doubt they would even have made me do the GTT sods law! So will see what the results are for that next week and what the Obgyn has to say about it (probably want to do a section) any excuse here!

@KittyKatSmile baby is still neutral indeed! My thumbs are really painful when I wake up can only think it's down to using the phone but soo sore! Maybe we're more prone to it atm =/

Hope you all had a nice Christmas, anyone got much planned for NYE, I struggle to stay up past 10 of late so I really cba but one my new friends is keen to do something!

This was couple days before Christmas @ 29 weeks - I am going to be hugeeeee by 40!

@Welshpugmomma you look amazing! I would look like a bag of shite in that dress! 😂

I had to have the glucose test here. It was a two hour one (but I know over there they do one hour and then 4). Better they find it though so they can keep an eye on it.

@Zest11 no I don't need any extra scans as I saw a consultant and he wasn't concerned and didn't want me to be consultant led. But he said just as a bonus he would make sure I had a scan at 28 and 36 weeks. So I had my 28 week one. But they sent me another for 31 weeks and I don't know why. But just going to go anyway! My last scan baby was spot on average on everything so she's about 50th percentile.

@Welshpugmomma you look amazing!! Wow!

And @Ginandtonic31 you look tiny!

This is me. @Cauliflower82, you are now required to show us Pip

You all look so nice in your dresses. I look awful in a nice dress 😫 my bump is so high for them.