The Berry-Copter!!! (Early 2015 edition)

[FeatherFeather11]

Here we go! Here's to a big Berrie clusterdiff from the other thread and many a safe and healthy baby Berrie arrival in 2015!

Jellie I really feel for you with Mr J's antics! I don't have much advice I'm afraid DH has been absolutely bloody amazing all the way through but hopefully after your chat he gets it.
I've now put on 2st at 30w. My mw told me to try and stay at my booking in weight through pg my bmi is high. Whilst others fail to keep food down in the 1st tri I only felt ill when I got hungry so ate my way through. In 2nd tri I did better and took lunches with me to work with loadsa fruit and carrots etc. It's enough to just cope in pregnancy so don't fret and do what you can manage. Try and get gentle walks and swims in when you can, keep your blood pressure monitored and I'm sure you'll be just fine.

Thanks RP I think I'm 5+2 but don't understand how they calculate pregnancy in IVF; I'm 22 days post EC?

HB try this: www.yourivfjourney.com/baby-calculators-for-pregnancy/ivf-and-fet-due-date-calculator/

That has me at 5+2 Pixie so my calculations were right.

Thank you for the handhold, I have no idea what is going on today, lots of tears so not hopeful. Discussing with DH about what to do and he hasn't a clue so we may just bury our heads until our scan. Like someone said for today I am pregnant!

HB - first of all congratulations on your BFP!

After such a long time TTC , it's normal you're in disbelief. Like many on here I did a test every day until my first scan.

DH loves to recount how I used to wake up ever morning in the first trimester, feel my breasts and proclaim how they are no longer tender and therefore my progesterone is dropping and I couldn't possibly be pregnant anymore.

My symptoms came and went at the start, and I could never be quite sure if I was imagining the or if they were real. I also had some spotting at week 5 which totally freaked me out as I was sure I was miscarrying.

All this just to say - how you feel is normal and I think we've all been trough it. It's really tough, but it doesn't mean that anything bad will happen or that your little bean won't stay holding on tightly.

Oh yes I did tests every day till about 10w.

Just hang on there. I actually used to count hours till the next day, so I could say I was 5+3, 5+4 etc. I didn't really stop that till I was 32w.

This probably sounds very silly, but I used to imagine I was swimming in with the tide. I was being carried along by the waves towards the shore but at the start of the pg I was quite far out and it was dark and scary. I didn't know what was underneath me but I had to trust I would make it. As I got closer and closer to the shore with each passing week, I gradually began to see the sandy bottom, and the water became lighter and clearer, until in the last weeks I could just walk ashore if I needed to.

I found that sense of being carried along, of swimming with a tide, really soothing. Possibly just me though :)

Congratulations hb! I know how difficult it is but please try not to worry! I had pretty much no symptoms throughout the entire pregnancy. I felt more tired than usual at the beginning but that was about it. It really does not mean anything so try to stay positive! Have everything crossed for you and hope the time until your scan goes quickly.

bushy Nothing can prepare you for the first few weeks, but it does get easier pretty quickly! I found the Bravado bras are nice and soft and comfy and have been using the Lansinoh breast pads. I haven't had too many problems with leakages - mainly on the odd occasion when DD has slept through for 5-6 hours and I've woken up with ginormous boobs!

Hi all, thank you again for the handholding. I've been to the clinic and my HCG level has come back as 7666 so they are convinced that everything is ok. They don't want to repeat it so said to call back if anything changed or if I started bleeding but otherwise to hang on in there until next week.

HB - I had a mahoosive pack of cheapie internet tests and I still break one out every coupla weeks (only have two left) and I'm 17+4 today. All the time we're going through this process, we think the finish line is the day we get pregnant. I now know this is wrong! Is there a finish line? I'm no longer so sure I think that perhaps each step is its own challenge.

RP - Love your analogy. Going to steal that and use it myself.

Pixie - Weight is okay at the mo - I put on 3lbs the week before last and lost 2 this last week so staying pretty much the same so far. Have been very very poor this week so I must buck my ideas up.

My consultant appointment was great. Loved her she was so straightforward, unstuffy and just down to earth. It was very thorough. I was in her office for about an hour. I picked up my fragmin injections (booooooo) and booked up for my four weekly scans! (YAY) No appointment this week but Midwife and 20 week scan the week after! Then off on holidays for two weeks.

Went on a massive shopping spree on Saturday! Brilliant - No maternity clothes as I cant see any in plus sizes but I have discovered the sheer brilliance of those stretchy pyjama style trousers! Go get some they are amay-zing!

Right better go - its nearly home time and I have choir tonight too

LOL my 4 yo nephew has decided the babies need to be called aunty jelliebabe (after me obvs) and Mrs Connor (after his teacher!) as we are his favourite people. Make me giggle every time I think about it!

congratulations HB welcome to the longest couple of weeks you'll ever have! every day is a step closer and you deserve the end result. it is hard but laughter and positivity really will make it easier. But in the meantime these ladies are great for giving you peace of mind.

I had my 25 week MW appointment. where I live it's a dodgy postcode so instead of antenatal classes we get one on one support which is awesome. booked in again now for 28 weeks where next set of bloods and I get to attend a BF class and meet people. God, it feels like first day of school.

JC, glad oh was nice after his mischievous night. even though mine can be a pain I wouldn't be without him or change him!

sorry, can't remember what everyone else said, and I'm still giddy after hearing our little girls heart beat again and to be told she's really happy makes me happy. can't believe 3 months to go! x

Does anyone else struggle with hiccups? I've always been a bit hiccupy but I swear they've increased five-fold since being pregnant.

HB how are you feeling today?

Gill how far along are you?

Fluffy can't believe you're in viability territory now!!

All so exciting.

This week we decided to make Dodo have a proper bedtime so I unilaterally moved her bedtime from 11pm to 8.30. A few wrinkles but generally going well! She is really sunny and adaptable :) Today as I drove to the station to pick DH up, she giggled at her toy octopus the whole way there :)

I'm 9+1 today RP. On the whole generally feel OK. Need to eat regularly or I start to feel rough. Struggle with being tired, there are some days where I'm practically closing my eyes at my desk at work. I just about have enough energy to cook dinner but DH is having to up his game with everything else.

Went to buy a new bra on Monday and was traumatised by the 36H bra I ended up buying! My boobs have never been small (usually a 34 FF) but I feel like they're out of control. Hope they settle down for a bit!

I also needed the toilet whilst bra shopping which involved walking through the baby section. Almost felt that I should be wearing blinkers as if I stopped to look at anything it would totally jinx things.

DH has started to take a picture of my bump flabby belly every day in some sort of time lapse experiment. I seem to be eating my own body weight in cheese!

Glad the blood test was as it should be HB. Hoping the week passes quickly until your scan. Have you told anyone in RL that you're preggers yet?

Dodo sounds delightful and seems like a pretty good baby most of the time. Are you going back to work?

Hi gill
I used to get these horrible single hiccup that sounded like a backward retch, but needed to do them or I'd feel sick! oh moaned saying I was doing them on purpose! they've passed now.

Oh yes Gill I did fall asleep at my desk - one day, three times!! Was woken by a colleague who was reminding me of a meeting I should be at

I found I had more energy during the second and third tris, though.

Yes, returning to work in about eight weeks! Can't believe it. Dodo is a really easy baby so we are very lucky, because it is HARD sometimes! Like right now, she is suddenly less keen on naps, but she needs them or gets grumpy. She will nap in her buggy though, so today and yesterday have gone on five-mile marches for her midday nap! Knackering.

I bought her a bath towel when I was 14w. People kept telling me oooh don't what if something happens. But it was the only time in my life I'd ever been pg and I wanted something to remember. I knew if anything happened to the pg, other people would soon forget but I'd always have that memento of something bought out of love, just for her, her first gift. Now every time I give her a bath and use her cuddly duck towel it reminds me how precious she is and how very, very lucky I am that we got here in the end.

Arrr, rp that proper made me well up.

I haven't got hiccups per se but a lot of wind- belching & the other! Lovely! Totally remember the needing to eat regularly otherwise I'd feel rough. It was like I was a baby myself as I'd need to eat every 2 hours! All dh did over Xmas holiday was feed me. I'd often have 2 breakfasts! It got better in the 2nd trimester where I could go for longer. I still love my food though & I haven't had the needing to eAt smaller meals because there's not enough room, there's still room!! Trying to be a bit better with eating etc & rein it back in. I also remember the tiredness. I'd fall asleep on the sofa each night & the house, esp the bathroom got really grotty as I just didn't have the energy to clean it.

jellie bless your little nephew!!

rp bless dodo laughing at her toy octopus!

I'm good thanks. I am thinking of going in to triage tomorrow as have had another child in my class with chicken pix & want to check my immunity. One of the mums who is a midwife said to do that as you get the results on the day. I'm not teaching tomorrow so thought that might be ok.

How are you doing HB? Hope you're coping with the mental. Nearly the weekend - yay!

Hi Gill I'm not too bad thank you. My brain is still swinging from optimism to pessimism so just taking it day by day until Wednesday. I have said to DH that if everything is ok next week that I will look at seeing the clinic counsellor for some assistance. I can't believe that you are 9+3 already. I'm sure it doesn't feel it to you but that seems to have flown by!

Pearl your boob story made me laugh, especially as I had to ask DH opinion on mine this morning as I thought they had shrunk - he enthusiastically said that they had grown!

RP I hope the routine setting is going well. The towel story made me well up as well.

Hope the end of your days goes well and that you have a good weekend all!

I had no idea that the first few weeks would be so tough and I fortunately haven't had to go through what you have. Seeing a heart beat calmed things down a lot for me. Once a heart beat is seen then the odds of maintaining the pregnancy are much higher. At around 7 weeks I figured that being so anxious wasn't doing anyone any favours and apart from looking after myself, everything was out of my control. On that basis I've tried to be a bit calmer. Don't get me wrong, I'm on constant knicker watch and I have a small panic at every twinge and cramp but every time I hit a new week, that feels like another step closer. The time dragged up to about 7 weeks but feels a little quicker now which is maybe because I'm a little calmer. I'm sure I'll be a mess before the 12 week scan and additional screening.

Definitely pursue the counselling if you think it will help. It's weird having all the support from a clinic and the Berries pre BFP but you do feel a bit alone in those early weeks after a BFP. The Berries are lovely but I don't feel comfortable posting anything about myself on that thread.

DH also likes to confirm the size of my boobs. I feel a bit sorry for him as he hadn't seen any action in months. I'm hoping to rectify that once we get past the 12 week scan.

Ah HB yes do see the counsellor. I had big ishoos around pg and labour due to a difficult history and was supposed to be getting a MH referral. It got stuffed up so I didn't anf in the end the things I feard didn't come to pass, so it didn't matter - but having gone thru it all, I'd say it's actually really important to take care of yourself MH wise. Even though I ended up not needing support I wish I'd had it to fall back on.

So the routine is......precisely nowhere! Dodo has hit the dreaded four month sleep regression plus a growth spurt, in style. Today she absolutely refused to nap, ending up with us both in a wood with her howling and me rocking her like a demented thing, to the pitying glances of svelte passing joggers anf their dogs. We put her to bed at 8.15 and I have only just come downstairs from settling her!

Pg peeps, for your own sanity, learn when growth spurts and developmental leaps are due. Basically your normally lovely placid baby will become a total bugger for a few days each time. They totally catch me out every time. But they do go back to normal after! thank fuck

rp now imagining you in that forest rocking your baby back and forth - made me laugh out! It sounds like you have coped with having a baby so well and Dodo sounds just lovely, though there are bound to be a few wrinkles, right? What would you recommend for the leaps and spurts? Is the wonder weeks app the one to go for?

gill woohoo!! Into the third month now. Not long to go till your 12 week scan and then the much nicer 2nd trimester. Please don't hesitate to post about anything that worries you. I am sure you'll find many on here able to empathise...

bushy that's not good about chicken pox. Did you go to triage in the end?

hb hope you've had a good weekend. I think seeing a counsellor is a good idea for a little bit of support. The first few weeks are tough - I think it's a mix of the optimism/ pesimism rollercoaster you referred to and the hormones doing their bit.

I went in for an open day and tour at the hospital today and was really impressed. This was partly due to really low expectations as the ultrasound unit and clinic I attend are pretty tired and ancient looking but the wards seem to be a different story. The delivery suites (under consultant care) and birth centre (under midwife care) are amazing. Really spacious rooms with birthing balls, pools, etc. it's really reassured me about giving birth.

Hi Pearl, did you look round W* hospital? I've decided to go to SM as have had treatments at both hospitals but liked SM more. We're slightly closer to W but still only 15-20 mins from SM. Good to hear that the facilities look good and you know what to expect.

Hi Gill yes Wythenshawe. I thought was amazing, but I have nothing to compare it to. The rooms were really new and spacious and they also said that they were very rarely oversubscribed. I've heard really good things about Stepping Hill too..

So had my booking in appointment with the MW today - I guess this shit just got official! I have my own green file and everything! . 12 week scan is booked for the 24th so 2 weeks tomorrow. I'm also going to try and book the NIFTY test for next Tues. The MW suggested that I start taking a low dose aspirin every day to help with blood flow to the placenta. Apparently in older birds like myself the placenta can be less efficient than in younger women so the aspirin is supposed to help. I'm also unlikely to be allowed to go beyond my due date as after 40 weeks the placenta is also more likely to deteriorate in older women.

How is the healthy eating and exercise going Jelli? I went for a very gentle 5km parkrun on Saturday and it felt good to be exercising again. I managed to squash my boobs into a sports bra two sizes too small for me so it basically looked like I had a ledge of boob!

Also had a much needed haircut on Saturday and found out that my hairdresser is expecting too. I thought she was going to say she was five months pregnant given the size of her bump but she's 2 weeks behind me . I managed to drop myself in it by saying that I suspected it the last time I saw her but she wouldn't have even been pregnant then

Gill is there an outraged AIBU thread about you yet?

If it is not indelicate....how old are you? I ask cos I strongly had the impression during pg that some MW and other HCP tend to overstate the danger of being an "older" mum. A woman I know from my antenatal classes was essentially bullied into having an induction at 40w as she was 40 but it didn't go so well (baby fine!) and she told me later she regrets not finding out more for herself. Sorry hope that isn't too sticky beak of me.

Pearl yeah Wonder Weeks are good! They are developmental/ cognitive leaps, but there are also physical growth spurts. Sometimes they coincide like in week 6 With both, their sleep goes to pot. But when you realise it's temporary and for a reason, it makes it soooo much easier, for me anyhow. The only times I felt like, shit, don't know if I can do this, have been those leaps, because if you bf they just latch on to you for HOURS and then randomly sack off sleeping at night. It's a tough combination! But then in every case, with Dodo at least, it'll all suddenly snap back to normal and she'll sleep properly again and be all sunny like normal.