Saturday 15 March 2014

Sea ghost

Round 35: April 2041 (Autumn)

Malcolm Novak is 31 and Hope is 30.
(Augustin is 86, Emil is 69, Naomi is 66, Owen is 64, Anna is 63, Cara is 52, Rebecca is 32, Nathan is 31, Julia is 30 and Jack is 29)
Narrated by Malcolm Novak


Hope is turning 30 this month, so we decided to have a few people over to celebrate. She’s absolutely exhausted lately but she insisted she wanted to do something for her big 3-0, so we invited a small group of friends over, along with Hope’s brother Nathan and his wife Rebecca.

I really, really don’t enjoy spending time with Julia but she’s Hope’s best friend. I try to be out of the house when she’s over but in this case, I wasn’t exactly going to do that.

My good friend Jack was there too and I mostly spoke with him all night anyway. 

Hope is usually out like a light by 9:30 these days but she made a valiant effort and managed to stay up until past 11! I could tell she was struggling nearing the end, as much as she was enjoying herself. 

Though, she did end up falling asleep in her cake which, quite honestly, was pretty hilarious. 

Hope was quite embarrassed about it but I think everyone felt some sympathy for her, though we did all giggle a bit about it. 

I thought Hope would be weird about turning 30. Her mother still hasn’t quite accepted that she turned 60 a few years back and I was expecting a little of the same. But she was absolutely fine.

She’s about where she wanted to be at 30 - married, with a baby on the way and a job in her chosen field - so she’s quite content about her age.

A few days after the party, Hope told me that she hadn’t felt the baby moving in a few days and was really starting to freak out about it.

My first instinct was to reassure her that it was probably nothing but being a doctor, I couldn’t honestly say I knew that was true.

I also knew that Hope hasn’t been the panicky type during her pregnancy. She’s been fairly calm and relaxed about the baby all the way through. If she was worried, maybe it wasn’t nothing. 

So we headed to the hospital and waited for Hope to have an ultrasound and to see Dr. Moretti.

We weren’t waiting that long, according to my watch, but it really did feel like forever to us. 

When we finally talked to Dr. Moretti, she only had bad news for us. Our baby was gone and there was nothing we could do.

They did the ultrasound and just couldn’t find a heartbeat. Everything had gone perfectly up until then, so to say we were shocked was the understatement of the year.

We had the option of an induction or waiting for labour to start naturally. Hope couldn’t bear the thought of waiting, so we decided on an induction.

I was able to take some time off to be with Hope afterwards. She didn’t want to be at home on her own and I really didn’t feel ready to go back to work anyway.

Neither of us have ever been more devastated. I learnt all about everything than can go wrong during pregnancy at med school but you still don’t think any of it is going to happen to you.

I can’t believe that such a short time ago, we were starting our family and now that’s all gone.

Hope had been nagging me to finish the baby’s nursery for months now and I only just got it finished last week. I guess that will now stay empty for a while yet.

I don’t want to go in there right now but Hope spends a bit of time in the nursery. She says she usually ends up crying but she finds it cathartic at the same time.

I didn’t want to leave Hope to go back to work but I didn’t have much choice. Our families have been pretty supportive though, which is great. 

Hope was far enough along with her pregnancy that we had told everyone and now we have to untell them. Hope’s parents are taking care of some of that, thank God, because Hope and I do not feel up to it at all. 

Everyone has been checking in on us, dropping off meals so we don’t need to worry about cooking and basically doing whatever we need them to. 

Mum has done more cleaning in this house in the last week or so than Hope or I have. 

She doesn’t feel like she can say anything to make it all better and she can’t cook but helping us keep the place clean is something she can do.

Grandpa is 86 and I wouldn’t expect him to do that much but even he dropped by to see us. I was at work at the time but Hope was happy to see him.

Grandpa really loves Hope, as did Grandma. He was so excited about meeting another great-grandchild. 

Hope and I aren’t really ready to talk about when we might try again yet. It feels too raw at the moment. 

Physically, Hope is probably not ready yet and it’ll be a while for both of us before we’re emotionally ready. 

Before we lost the baby though, Hope had been wanting a cat and I’d said no, because I thought adding a baby and a cat to the household at the same time might be a bit much. 

But I thought Romeo might bring a few smiles to our faces and I can’t really say no to that possibility these days. He’s an older cat too, so he’s as trained as he’s ever going to get and fairly low maintenance. 

Romeo is it for us right now. We’ll revisit the idea of a baby in six months or so. If we’re both ready then, then we’ll go for it. If not, that’s okay too. We’re not in any rush. 

Notes:
  • Title is from Sea Ghost by the Unicorns.
  • Ugh, I hate that Hope lost the baby. :( I really wasn't planning this at all. She actually got out of bed to miscarry and I was surprised, because I thought as long as their energy was increasing, they'd be okay. But apparently, hers was low enough anyway. I was biting my nails watching her, hoping it would just be pre-term contractions and I could just send her back to bed. But nope.
  • Technically, the fathers are not affected by the miscarriage at all. Their aspiration doesn't drop and they don't suffer any physical effects (for those of you who don't use InTeen, the mother's aspiration, hygiene and comfort all bottom out when she miscarries). But Malcolm really did, somehow. Gameplay-wise, I don't know what caused it but I hate that the men usually don't care, so I didn't mind. His aspiration was just barely into the green the whole time (I can usually keep my sims platinum or gold with no difficulty) and was actually lower than Hope's when I left them. Hope's spirits were really lifted by Romeo but Malcolm doesn't have any easily achievable wants right now. 
  • Augustin dropped by autonomously, which was cute. I teleported Naomi and Owen in but she really did get to work cleaning right away. And not just one counter either. She did every counter, as well as the sink and the oven! Hope would have appreciated that, being a fellow neat freak. ;)
  • I'll probably pop in sometime this round to let Hope and Malcolm try again. I don't think it's realistic that it wouldn't happen for two years (about when their next update will be). They both have the want for a baby, so they're very keen. But I also don't think they'd want to try again right away either, so I'm going to wait on it. 
  • And yes, that's my new hospital you can see! There's no ultrasound room yet or an OB/GYN office (that's the GP's office Cara is in), so I had to work with what I had. I really wasn't expecting to need it yet. 

20 comments:

  1. Jaw drop

    That was not what I expected when you said that the play session didn't go the way you envisioned. I literally gasped aloud. Here I was thinking I would have a nice Sullivan update with come chinese food and now I'm like...whoa.

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    1. I actually thought I was being too obvious and had spoiled it for someone! It's hard to say what others will infer from my posts, seeing I have the advantage of actually knowing what I'm talking about.

      But I know. :( How you're feeling now is exactly how I was feeling when it actually happened! I am still genuinely sad about it. I had to go in last night and let Patience have her baby and let me tell you, I took such excellent care of her! Can't take another sim miscarriage right now.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  2. Oh no! Of course, me not knowing much about hacks (I never use them), I had no idea a pregnancy can result in miscarriage in your game... how terrible for the poor couple! Two ladies in my circle of friends and family IRL have had miscarriages, which was a very sad and difficult time for them and their partners.
    I do hope this pretty nursery will be used by a happy little girl or boy in the not too far away future!

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    1. Yes, the miscarriages are a feature of Inteenimater and they can happen at any time during the pregnancy. In my experience though, they're rarer the closer you get to the end, so Hope and Malcolm were astonishingly unlucky here. :( I have had some friends in real life who've miscarried and it really is so heartbreaking.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  3. Just like Apple Valley I didn't see this comming, and your comment on N99 gave nothing away, at least not for me!
    I too was expecting a nice morning read, but I actually had tears in my eyes (yes I know I think I'm a bit too emotional, but I didn't see this comming at all!)
    They seemed so ready to welcome this little one, and I really hope they will be welcoming another one very soon!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I think this has happened before, where I've thought I spoiled things on N99 and then the post comes out and everyone who read the post is still shocked, lol!

      Anyway, this made me quite sad as well. :( I am hoping to pop in before the end of this sim year and have Hope and Malcolm conceive again, so we'll keep our fingers crossed. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Oh, this was my worst nightmare scenario when I was pregnant and it was so sad to see it happening to Hope. At least they have people to look after them. I think they'd want to try agin soon but not right away, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that it happens during this round anyway.

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    1. It has to be every parent's worse nightmare, I think. What could be more terrible than losing a very much wanted baby? Sad as I was about the baby, I was happy to see Hope and Malcolm's relatives being so autonomously helpful and kind. Just goes to show you that one nice point doesn't necessarily mean "mean"!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. I almost started crying when I read this. Poor Hope and Malcolm! It's so devastating to see the sadness on their faces and the picture of Hope sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery just breaks my heart. I hope that everything goes well when they finally try again.

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    1. Yes, Hope went into the nursery on her own (though the shot of her in the chair is posed, obviously). Malcolm has yet to set foot in there. :( Both of their reactions are making me sad! I am usually extra, extra careful with my pregnant sims when they have a history of miscarriage, so hopefully, Hope's next pregnancy has a happier ending.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  6. Horribly sad, I got teary eyed over this, so sad to read. I've have two friends that had a stillborn/late term miscarriage, and it's just horrible beyond words. And I am so sad that this happened with Hope and Malcolm, they really seemed to be on the cusp of a great new beginning, and it's so sad that this tragic event occurred to them, and that nursery... breaks my heart.

    I'm glad that family came to help out, they both have such good families when they are needed. And her birthday party was nice, and she's adorable when she's expecting. I hope it comes easily when they try again, and be very vigilant with her the next time, because it's SO much easier to miscarry after the first, I've had them miscarry when they weren't even red, more like greenish yellow.

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    1. It really is so crushing for Hope and Malcolm. They were so far along and there was no warning or anything. :( Hopefully they'll have a baby or be pregnant with one by the end of the round.

      I have actually experienced the opposite, if anything, with sims who've miscarried. I don't think I've ever had a sim have more than one! But maybe I already am hyper-vigilant with them - I certainly feel like I watch them like a hawk, to make sure their hunger and energy isn't dipping too low!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  7. Oh man, I was NOT expecting that turn of events. Nooo! :'( I keep forgetting that was a dangerous possibility with mods in TS2. I mean, I liked it in that it made you watch your sims closely, but it's always very sad when it happens...

    I really hope their next attempt doesn't take such a terrible turn. They definitely deserve to be parents and I can't wait to see what cute kids they'll have! Loved that their family was there to support them. You can't fix bad things, but you can soothe them and help others get through it!

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    1. I may have gasped out "Nooo!" myself when this happened! Even when she was doing the contraction thing they do when they have a miscarriage (and give birth, obviously), I was so sure it would just be a warning and was ready to have her on bed rest for the rest of the update. :( I'm still sad about it!

      As I've said, I'm going to be extra careful to take good care of Hope during her next pregnancy. I am hoping that'll be enough for a smooth pregnancy next time around. I was really happy to see how supportive the family has been though!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  8. Oh my gosh, that is so sad. Poor Hope! It seem like she was ready to and really looking forward to having the baby. I guess some things aren't meant to be.

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    1. Hope and Malcolm were both really ready to start a family, so this is a huge blow for them. I'm going to let them try again later this round, so hopefully, they'll be able to realise their dream of having a baby soon enough.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  9. Oh no =(

    I was devastated when Esme miscarried in my game and I really hadn't had any build-up to it at all, so this just felt worse. From a game-play point of view, I like the way you handled it. Did you cheat her bump back in for the pictures?

    I do love when the game adds small details accidentally like affecting his mood and the mother-in-law cleaning, that's just perfect.

    -Asha

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    1. Yeah, I had to make Hope pregnant again for the pictures, because the miscarriage totally took me by surprise! I was trying to remember last night how I'd handled this before, because I've never had to make a sim pregnant again and then I realised I've never had a sim miscarry this far along before, so the bump has never been an issue.

      The little accidental details that crop up are one of the things I like best about blogging for this game. It's amazing how many times I've been thinking about setting up a little scene and then the sims do just the perfect thing, without me lifting a finger!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  10. How awful! When I saw them I was sure I was going to see the new baby, and now I'm sad. :( I'm glad their families are so helpful to them. That's something you'd need at a time like that. I have a family member that miscarried a few years ago, and it was only family that helped her.

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    1. Babies will only ever come in the birthdays update, so this was just going to be a happy "preparing for the new baby" session. I freeze my pregnancies, so there's no way the babies can surprise me. But anyway...so much for that! The game really threw me a curveball with Hope and Malcolm. :(

      The family has really pulled together to support them both though, which is really lovely to see. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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