Moving home, new job and newly pregnant!

[mcsquared]

Hi everyone, newbie here! I'm in a bit of a panic so would appreciate being calmed down by some of your experiences! I got married last year but had to live apart from hubs due to my job. I've now got a new job in his area and am in the process of moving in! I don't officially leave my current job until 5th April but have changed all my details to my new address and have pretty much moved all my stuff. To throw a spanner in the works, I've just found out I'm pregnant! Whilst we're very happy, this wasn't planned and so I've done absolutely no preparation!!

I was going to leave it until I officially moved but registered with the local GP today, thinking it would be a good idea but I don't have my health check with them for two weeks. I'm probably only 3 weeks at this point. Apart from eating healthy and avoiding nasty things is there anything else healthcare wise I need to be doing?? And will the fact that I was a tea addict prior to today have harmed the baby? I also did silly things like skip lunch at work and worry I've malnourished the baby somehow. : ( I've started taking prenatal vitamins.

For someone who plans and prepares every aspect of her life, those two lines on a pee stick have completely thrown me!! Also not looking forward to the embarrassing conversation with the new boss but these things happen and I'm sure I'm not the first!

you should get the tea levels in your bloods done straight away hun

Firstly congratulations! A new start and a new baby on the way, how exciting! Health wise nothing you have said is likely to have caused the baby any harm. There are foods you should be avoiding now and it is advisable to cut down your caffeine intake now that you know you are pregnant, there is more info on this on the NHS website or in pregnancy info pages on mumsnet. Taking prenatal vitamins is a good idea, the important thing right now is folic acid which should be in the vitamins. It helps prevent spina bifida, so even if you don't continue taking the vitamins folic acid 400 microgram per day is very important. Have you booked the health check with new gp? I would let them know just so they are aware, just call the surgery and tell them, you probably won't need to see the doctor about the pregnancy as most places now refer you straight to the midwives. You will get a booking in appointment with blood tests and other checks around the 8 to 11 week mark, you will probably need to book this yourself so perhaps ask what your new surgery's procedure is. Then you will be offered a scan at around 12 weeks. I think that just about covers the first trimester! Any questions just ask! People on here are very helpful

Essential that's not very helpful, I was just singing mumsnets praises!

Thank you so much lala! That's really useful. I got my positive result this morning and have been reading mumsnet/googling ever since! It's good to know there's nothing imminent and I've mentioned I'm pregnant on the registration forms. My mum has also been amazing at calming down my fears! I'm totally on decaf now and on the vitamins. Been drinking innocent smoothies like crazy! I worry that not taking folic acid for the first few weeks may have done harm but I guess what will be will be and I can only do my best from now on! The health check is just routine for new members and I think I'll chat to the nurse about the pregnancy then and get referred if nothing needs to happen till 8-11 weeks. : )

No problem, ideally you would take the folic acid from before pregnancy but starting asap when you find out is the next best thing, good luck for the rest of the pregnancy, I'm 33 weeks with my first baby, I can't wait to meet him soon!

Don't worry - lala has said it all about vitamins and healthy eating but I can chip in on the other stuff! I too found out I was pregnant the day before I started a new job, and I had just sold my house so ended up moving at 34 weeks - great timing! After lots of panicking about telling work and the strain of moving house I'm now happily relaxing on maternity leave in my lovely new home, work were fine (shocked but got over it) and all is good. Rely on your partner, family and friends and don't be afraid to ask for help if your getting stressed - its really not the end of the world if things get left a little longer than you would normally like. Don't stress about what you ate or drank before you knew - we all did it (I remember several G & T's on a night out shortly before I found out!) - the main thing is that now you know you can take good care of you and the baby. Good luck!

Aww thank you Lisa! Both of you have really reassured me and I feel a lot happier and calmer now. : ) I kind of just want to tell my new boss and get it over with but haven't even got a start date from them yet so probably too soon! I'm also kicking myself as I took a part time position (because it's all that was available) and won't be entitled to as much SMP (I work in the NHS so hoping my previous service counts).

I'm pretty sure in the NHS your previous service will count :) you will still get the full amount of SMP as it is set by the government, I'm part time too but SMP is the same. It's just the extra bit your employer gives you that will go down a bit