I've been super quiet and feel like there is too much to catch up on here but congrats @Rachael321 on your induction date that's so exciting!
@Knotemma I love Aurora too! With I was having a girl, haha! Your organiser looks so great, it's making me jealous! We can't have anything in the house baby related as we're trying to sell and don't want to tip off buyers that we're essentially desperate, even though we are. I had a meltdown this morning, flat been on market 2 weeks and if we don't get an offer soon I don't see how we can complete in time. Moving after baby arrives is not an option as as soon as my income goes that's it our mortgage would go.... boyfriend talking about mortgage stuff this morning and I could feel my blood pressure rising just thinking and worrying about it, then I sneezed and there was blood everywhere so I had to go sit down, calm down with some frozen peas on my nose. I'm starting to think nosebleeds are actually quite handy in terms of forcing you to calm down when you need to - before I was pregnant I'd just get worked up about things without such an obvious physical indicator that I need to chill out! I might carry on doing the frozen peas thing when this is all over even without nosebleeds - its a nice little ritual to centre yourself with 15m of calm - well if that's even practical to do with a young baby just sit quietly for 15m hmmmmmm...
I started back at work this week, although only did Monday-Weds as I have 6 days annual leave to take this month. Oh my gosh the heat was unbearable whilst working outside, I pretty much got no work done but luckily my employers are understanding - I guess they have to be really given that I am pregnant and all. On my 2 months furlough the apprentice (I don't want to be rude but she is so so impractical, doesn't retain information and just doesn't have green fingers at all!) managed to kill 2 newly planted mature Acers which I moved myself during the awful wet winter and which practically killed me, an entire new border of Hydrangeas that I'd put in, a Pittosporum, a winter sweet shrub which I'd planted near a walkway so that in years to come the kids could enjoy the sweet scent whilst walking between classes, and the headmasters wife favourite daphne, as well as 2 chrysanthemums that the nursery teachers are really protective of and they're going to be really pissed about when they return! It was a bit disheartening, but I'm trying to cling onto the few things that I have planted which have flourished and which will leave my mark on the school long after I've gone (a rare little Japanese crab-apple, and an ornamental grapevine with amazing colour outside the nursery which will give the kids spring blossom and bright red crab apples and vine leaves to see in autumn and enjoy, as well as a few other bits and pieces around site). It feels very strange to be leaving as I know that a lot of my hard work will be undone knowing the school doesn't plan to replace me and is just using an apprentice with zero experience to do my work! They won't realise that they need someone else for a year or so when they start to notice just how bad the weed problems have become, as it takes a gardeners eye to spot some of these things in advance! Anyway, I'm holding onto that crab-apple tree, that's one thing I can feel pleased with at least! I'm perhaps going to have to say goodbye to gardening for a bit as I'm not sure how I can make it fit around my partners work, but I definitely plan to return in a couple of years, and hoping I won't be too disadvantaged in my career by taking a break.
Anyway I am still lurking on the group and watching everything but perhaps won't be replying as often as trying to sell the house and move is exhausting and stressful! Everyone send out some good vibes to the universe for a buyer for us soon, if we could get an offer in the next couple of weeks it would give me hope!
@Whiffle77 congrats on viability, that's great! I'll be there in a couple of days! I have started to feel him kicking now but only low down as I think my placenta blocks everything else. It's been about a week now and I'm sure it's kicks as it feels like muscle twitches or.... kicking, don't know how to describe it! It's mostly internal and particularly noticeable when he goes near or directly to my bladder!!!! Yesterday at work it was happening every hour, but I don't think he's woken up yet today. It's possible he's moving higher up at night and early in the morning and I just don't feel it, but he seems to be moving low down mostly in the afternoons, and since I've been back to work in the late mornings and lunchtimes sporadically. It's exciting but I'm nervous about starting to track as I know it's going to drive me insane! I don't think I can do the "lie down and count at set times twice a day" thing, as I don't think I can feel him unless he's in certain positions, so will just have to try and track as and when I can feel him.
My massive sympathies to everyone in the last trimester in this heat, phew!
xxxxx