Just to let you all know that we are still here, just really havent found the time to sit and write here regularly. The office i being used as a kinda storagey room at the moment, and we have no desk yet - I am typing on a keyboard resting on my lap, and looking at a screen propped up on boxes!
Louis is doing really well, putting on weight well and sleeping through the night (yay!)
Anyway, must be off, hopefully be back soon!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Fatty Boom Boom
Did you notice, when I was first pregnant I was updating this every day, and slowly, over time, how little time I am getting to update? That's babies for you! Well, I'm lying a bit... we've moved into our house (hooray) and have no internet connection there as yet, so even if I had had the chance, I couldn't have!
We've all been fine, and last week met up with the other Mums & babies from my NCT class, it was nice to get out of the house, ,to have adult conversation in the day time, and talk to people who's kids are the same age, kinda like comparing notes! I HAD to buy some clothes too - I know it should be an insentive to loose weight and get out of my maternity clothes, but it's just too hot. I'd gone up in top size which I imagined as my boobs have ballooned, but my bottoms I have gone from a size 10 to a 14, how annoying! The other annoying thing is that as much as I want to have my old figure back, I keep craving Bounty's and McDonalds.
We went out yesterday to town and I put Louis in his sling, I caved in and had that new Chicken Summer Deluxe, and I spilt the sauce on the carrier - serves me right and just made me feel even more guilty for having it - it was minging anyway!
Louis' grown more; he's been wearing his first 0-3 month outfits and has moved up to the next size nappies.
When I subscribed to Mother & Baby magazine I was asked if I would ever consider testing any products for them. I said yes, and last week got an email asking whether or not I was breastfeeding & expressing - I replied yes, and this week have been bombarded with packages to test for their awards... 4 pumps, 5 different type of anti-colic bottkes, and 2 sterilisers!
We've all been fine, and last week met up with the other Mums & babies from my NCT class, it was nice to get out of the house, ,to have adult conversation in the day time, and talk to people who's kids are the same age, kinda like comparing notes! I HAD to buy some clothes too - I know it should be an insentive to loose weight and get out of my maternity clothes, but it's just too hot. I'd gone up in top size which I imagined as my boobs have ballooned, but my bottoms I have gone from a size 10 to a 14, how annoying! The other annoying thing is that as much as I want to have my old figure back, I keep craving Bounty's and McDonalds.
We went out yesterday to town and I put Louis in his sling, I caved in and had that new Chicken Summer Deluxe, and I spilt the sauce on the carrier - serves me right and just made me feel even more guilty for having it - it was minging anyway!
Louis' grown more; he's been wearing his first 0-3 month outfits and has moved up to the next size nappies.
When I subscribed to Mother & Baby magazine I was asked if I would ever consider testing any products for them. I said yes, and last week got an email asking whether or not I was breastfeeding & expressing - I replied yes, and this week have been bombarded with packages to test for their awards... 4 pumps, 5 different type of anti-colic bottkes, and 2 sterilisers!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
21 Days Old
The health visitor weighed him today - he's 9lb 5oz already! Better dig out those 0-3 month clothes!
What a life!
19 Days Old
We went to visit our new house and wait for some deliveries. Louis wasn't interested in the England World Cup match, he preferred having a snooze
16 Days Old
Here's Louis after a nappy change. He doesnt like being changed but is very calm afterwards when he's all clean and fresh!
14 Days Old
He's having a swaddled snuggle with his grat grandma here, 14 days old. You can see a lot of the chub has now gone.
13 Days Old
Louis lurves his milk - here he's chilling out with mummy post-feed when we visited his nanny & grandad
11 Days Old
Sometimes when he's sleeping, Louis opens one or both of his eyes slightly, which really freaks us out!
10 Days Old
Nanny Sue and Louis are having a cuddle in the picture above. In the one below, Louis is copying his daddy.
8 Days Old
We didn't take any pictures of day 7 for some reason, but here are Louis and Daddy on day 8 having a sleepy snuggle.
6 Days Old
Louis was in a bit of a state, then my little sister starting practising her recorder, and it had a mesmerising effect on him! By the way, that's my Mum holding him - I can only wish that someday, I too will be that tanned!
Knowing he liked being wrapped up, and a couple of barely-sleeping nights, we decided to try swaddling...
And here are his little tootsies!
5 Days Old
Jack's Mum had bought a clothes set from Next... Jack wanted to see if they fitted, so here's Louis dressed in his dungarees with no top on underneath, day 5!
4 Days Old
Louis' grandparents came to visit on day 4 (Jack's parents), they couldn't wait to see him!
3 Days Old
Louis' likes being wrapped up before he goes down to sleep, it makes him feel like he's being cuddled...
2 Days Old
Our first visitors were Shelley & Ray, other than the neighbours. All our friends kept saying that they would wait until the stampede of visitors stopped, but there was no stampede! Shelley & Ray had just got back from holiday and had the day off so came to see our new arrival.
1 Day Old
Here he is, one day old - we'd just got him back from the hospital and put him in his carrycot. He looks quite chubby cheeked here compared to how he looks now, at 3 weeks old.
Back Again!
It's taken a while for me to get round to posting on here - you really dont understand the work that goes into looking after a newborn baby until you experience it yourself. Im gradually getting used to the nights getting up and feeding for an hour or more a few times a night, and some nights where we only get a couple of hours of sleep in total.
Im going to share some photos from every day (minus a couple where we didnt take any pics!) of Louis life... here he is a few hours old in the hospital:
Thursday, June 15, 2006
My Birth Story
I really don't have much of a concept of the timings but here is my story nonetheless ;)
I woke up at about 7.30ish on Monday morning as my OH got in the shower for work with pains in my pubic bone region & legs. I didn't realise that this was labour as I was expecting contractions across my belly. I'd had a bit of period pain type feelings the evening before but thought nothing of it.
After a while I realised the pains weren't going - it was a constant pain with it coming sharper about every 15mins. I rang my midwife and she told me to go to the maternity day unit at the hospital to be checked over.
I still didn't realise I was labouring even though I had 3 contractions walking down one hospital corridor! When I arrived at the MDU they did a 20min trace which confirmed that yes I was indeed contracting, and baby was very happy. They then said that it may just be BH's and asked if I wanted to be examined to see if I was dilated at all to determine where we would go from there. When I said I did I was given a whole argument about why I shouldn't be, but I decided that I did because I was feeling it quite a bit. I kept thinking, corr if this isn't it, I dread to think what the real deal is like! It wasnt terrible pain, but it wasnt nice!
I was examined and found to be 3cms dilated and told I would be having my baby that day. I was so excited! They walked me to the midwife led unit at the hospital, which I was booked in to, that was about 11am.
The room was really nice and we unpacked my bags, well rather my OH and Mum did (they were both my birth partners). We'd forgotten to pack any music, but there was an Elton John album and another compilation in there which we played. Forever more that Lionel Ritchie song about castles will remind me of my labour! Wish I could remember the name of it though!
Once I had been checked over again there, I decided to get the TENS machine on. It helped, but wasnt like what I thought it would be. It was like someone whacking you with a paddle of needles on the back! But the boost button certainly did help! They hooked up the gas & air too ready for when I wanted to use that. My mum took me to the loo and I could hear my OH chugging on it!
Eventually the contractions were less than 5 minutes apart and I started with the gas and air which I loved! It really helped to have the mouthpiece to bite on, and I liked the woozy feeling after the contraction had passed where I just felt spaced and calm.
I got up to go to the loo and felt something happen inside me, like a shift. I told the midwife and she then decided that she wanted to keep a midwife in with me from then on incase I went into second stage. I told her I wanted to use the water so they filled up the pool for me which took about an hour.
I got in and it was sooooo nice, it felt like such a relief and felt like my bump was floating. I was surprised at how warm it was in there and they kept topping it up with warm water. My bump moved really low down and pretty soon I had the urge to push. I was having one strong horrid contraction and then one not so bad one. The midwife came and checked my dilation about 4ish and I was fully dilated. She told me that the only thing stopping the baby from coming was my waters, and that she was worried about breaking them for me as baby had decided to go back up the birth canal. She decided to call the registrar to see if he/she was happy to break my waters, but the registrar was busy with a caesaran birth going on so we just had to get on with it.
I wasnt worried at all when I was told the news, it didnt register as something which may cause a problem but just as news. I started getting teary and told everyone I wanted to go home now (lol) so came out of the water to be checked, promptly threw up a few times, and decided not to go back in. The midwife wanted me to rest, so got the beanbag and big long kneeling mat out for me to lean on but after a while my knees were killing me so I moved to leaning on my side. I was then being told to push. Here's where the pain came! I was taking the gas and air so hard and from the wooziness, not pushing with all my strength, so I was only allowed 3 pulls on it before I had to finish my contraction with a push. I was shouting and screaming and was being told to hold my breath and push down. My leg was being held in the air by my OH and I was hanging on to my mum round the neck while she was telling me what to do. Eventually my waters broke and the midwife told my OH to go down the other end as it wouldnt be looking nice, so him and my mum swapped places. It was better having my OH there for me to grab round the neck as I knew I could be a bit more firm with him.
I kept thinking that this must be it now, all I remember was imaginging myself down there as a chocolate digestive biscuit, thats how big it felt I was, and really couldnt take it any more. I was screaming out that I needed something else for the pain, and that I wanted it to stop and please help me and I want to go home. I was so hot and couldnt cool down, then eventually I was being told they could see hair. Then I could see a head, my OH was nearly in tears saying I can see the head the head, then with my next push came out the rest of the face, from there I knew it was nearly over and did it with all my might. He came out with his little hands clenched into fists under his neck which meant it was a bit harder, but with the next push he was out and was such a funny feeling as he came out of me! 12th June, 20.48 and 3 days early, Louis Ray was born.
He was put on my chest and was whinging straight away, my OH was just sounding so in love and my mum was crying, I asked if it was a boy or a girl and they told me to look and it was a boy! My OH asked about 100 times if I was sure and the midwife got him to check too and we confirmed it, my OH was so happy as he secretly really wanted a boy. We waited for the cord to stop pulsing and then my OH decided he didnt want to cut it so my mum did the honors.
We passed baby over to OH for a cuddle while I got set to getting the placenta out, I couldnt push any more, so the midwife got me leaning back with her infront of me taking my weight, then we tried coughing it out, and then out it plopped! I was taken to the bed for a check over, had some more gas and air for my examination, where I was told I didnt need any stitches which I was very pleased about. I went all shaky and freezing so I was covered in a sheet and given some toast while baby Louis had his checks done on him.
OH's mum and sister had come down after work so were called in from the next room to meet the new arrival, then he had his weight taken and I was amazed to find he was 8 lb 11oz, my eyes nearly popped out my head!
Because it was a MLU I had my own private room which Louis and I were taken into. I really needed a wee but was so scared to do it. My OH came and helped me and I used my TENS unit. I was soooo stingy!
At about midnight my OH and Mum went home and Louis and I were left. I was really feeling quite shaky a short of breath so the doctor was called to check on me and he put it down to my pre-pregnancy anemia and decided I would have my blood tested the next day.
I fed Louis a couple of times and he slept soundly, I just lay awake. It didnt help that we had to leave the light on in my room so the midwife could keep an eye on me. He did a massive big jelly-like sick & I grabbed him from the cot because I thought he was struggling and called the midwife. I was so scared something was wrong. I was told it was normal and she'd be back in 5 mins to help me change him. 15 mins later still no sign of her so I did it myself and he was sick again, and again! I called the midwife because I needed to wee and didnt want to leave him alone and when I came out she said she was concerned that he was breathing quickly and called the paedeatritian.
He was checked and was fine but I was now worried! As soon as they left he got the hiccups which made him breathe fast again! We both finally got to sleep and he woke for a feed at which point I realised it was getting light which meant my OH could come back and I got all excited so stayed awake looking at my little man.
Opps just realised Im telling you his whole life story rather than birth story!
Anyway, we were allowed home that day, me with iron as I am still anemic. Midwife came round today and yesterday and is happy with us both. Louis is feeding well, but is a little bit jaundiced bit overall great. He loves being awake and eating at night but sleeps well in the day which is taking a bit of getting used to, but my OH has taken to it like a natural and my mum has been excellent too.
Well that's the end of my essay, sorry I got a bit carried away. I will update with pix once I get round to putting them on the pc.
Well done for reading this far!
I woke up at about 7.30ish on Monday morning as my OH got in the shower for work with pains in my pubic bone region & legs. I didn't realise that this was labour as I was expecting contractions across my belly. I'd had a bit of period pain type feelings the evening before but thought nothing of it.
After a while I realised the pains weren't going - it was a constant pain with it coming sharper about every 15mins. I rang my midwife and she told me to go to the maternity day unit at the hospital to be checked over.
I still didn't realise I was labouring even though I had 3 contractions walking down one hospital corridor! When I arrived at the MDU they did a 20min trace which confirmed that yes I was indeed contracting, and baby was very happy. They then said that it may just be BH's and asked if I wanted to be examined to see if I was dilated at all to determine where we would go from there. When I said I did I was given a whole argument about why I shouldn't be, but I decided that I did because I was feeling it quite a bit. I kept thinking, corr if this isn't it, I dread to think what the real deal is like! It wasnt terrible pain, but it wasnt nice!
I was examined and found to be 3cms dilated and told I would be having my baby that day. I was so excited! They walked me to the midwife led unit at the hospital, which I was booked in to, that was about 11am.
The room was really nice and we unpacked my bags, well rather my OH and Mum did (they were both my birth partners). We'd forgotten to pack any music, but there was an Elton John album and another compilation in there which we played. Forever more that Lionel Ritchie song about castles will remind me of my labour! Wish I could remember the name of it though!
Once I had been checked over again there, I decided to get the TENS machine on. It helped, but wasnt like what I thought it would be. It was like someone whacking you with a paddle of needles on the back! But the boost button certainly did help! They hooked up the gas & air too ready for when I wanted to use that. My mum took me to the loo and I could hear my OH chugging on it!
Eventually the contractions were less than 5 minutes apart and I started with the gas and air which I loved! It really helped to have the mouthpiece to bite on, and I liked the woozy feeling after the contraction had passed where I just felt spaced and calm.
I got up to go to the loo and felt something happen inside me, like a shift. I told the midwife and she then decided that she wanted to keep a midwife in with me from then on incase I went into second stage. I told her I wanted to use the water so they filled up the pool for me which took about an hour.
I got in and it was sooooo nice, it felt like such a relief and felt like my bump was floating. I was surprised at how warm it was in there and they kept topping it up with warm water. My bump moved really low down and pretty soon I had the urge to push. I was having one strong horrid contraction and then one not so bad one. The midwife came and checked my dilation about 4ish and I was fully dilated. She told me that the only thing stopping the baby from coming was my waters, and that she was worried about breaking them for me as baby had decided to go back up the birth canal. She decided to call the registrar to see if he/she was happy to break my waters, but the registrar was busy with a caesaran birth going on so we just had to get on with it.
I wasnt worried at all when I was told the news, it didnt register as something which may cause a problem but just as news. I started getting teary and told everyone I wanted to go home now (lol) so came out of the water to be checked, promptly threw up a few times, and decided not to go back in. The midwife wanted me to rest, so got the beanbag and big long kneeling mat out for me to lean on but after a while my knees were killing me so I moved to leaning on my side. I was then being told to push. Here's where the pain came! I was taking the gas and air so hard and from the wooziness, not pushing with all my strength, so I was only allowed 3 pulls on it before I had to finish my contraction with a push. I was shouting and screaming and was being told to hold my breath and push down. My leg was being held in the air by my OH and I was hanging on to my mum round the neck while she was telling me what to do. Eventually my waters broke and the midwife told my OH to go down the other end as it wouldnt be looking nice, so him and my mum swapped places. It was better having my OH there for me to grab round the neck as I knew I could be a bit more firm with him.
I kept thinking that this must be it now, all I remember was imaginging myself down there as a chocolate digestive biscuit, thats how big it felt I was, and really couldnt take it any more. I was screaming out that I needed something else for the pain, and that I wanted it to stop and please help me and I want to go home. I was so hot and couldnt cool down, then eventually I was being told they could see hair. Then I could see a head, my OH was nearly in tears saying I can see the head the head, then with my next push came out the rest of the face, from there I knew it was nearly over and did it with all my might. He came out with his little hands clenched into fists under his neck which meant it was a bit harder, but with the next push he was out and was such a funny feeling as he came out of me! 12th June, 20.48 and 3 days early, Louis Ray was born.
He was put on my chest and was whinging straight away, my OH was just sounding so in love and my mum was crying, I asked if it was a boy or a girl and they told me to look and it was a boy! My OH asked about 100 times if I was sure and the midwife got him to check too and we confirmed it, my OH was so happy as he secretly really wanted a boy. We waited for the cord to stop pulsing and then my OH decided he didnt want to cut it so my mum did the honors.
We passed baby over to OH for a cuddle while I got set to getting the placenta out, I couldnt push any more, so the midwife got me leaning back with her infront of me taking my weight, then we tried coughing it out, and then out it plopped! I was taken to the bed for a check over, had some more gas and air for my examination, where I was told I didnt need any stitches which I was very pleased about. I went all shaky and freezing so I was covered in a sheet and given some toast while baby Louis had his checks done on him.
OH's mum and sister had come down after work so were called in from the next room to meet the new arrival, then he had his weight taken and I was amazed to find he was 8 lb 11oz, my eyes nearly popped out my head!
Because it was a MLU I had my own private room which Louis and I were taken into. I really needed a wee but was so scared to do it. My OH came and helped me and I used my TENS unit. I was soooo stingy!
At about midnight my OH and Mum went home and Louis and I were left. I was really feeling quite shaky a short of breath so the doctor was called to check on me and he put it down to my pre-pregnancy anemia and decided I would have my blood tested the next day.
I fed Louis a couple of times and he slept soundly, I just lay awake. It didnt help that we had to leave the light on in my room so the midwife could keep an eye on me. He did a massive big jelly-like sick & I grabbed him from the cot because I thought he was struggling and called the midwife. I was so scared something was wrong. I was told it was normal and she'd be back in 5 mins to help me change him. 15 mins later still no sign of her so I did it myself and he was sick again, and again! I called the midwife because I needed to wee and didnt want to leave him alone and when I came out she said she was concerned that he was breathing quickly and called the paedeatritian.
He was checked and was fine but I was now worried! As soon as they left he got the hiccups which made him breathe fast again! We both finally got to sleep and he woke for a feed at which point I realised it was getting light which meant my OH could come back and I got all excited so stayed awake looking at my little man.
Opps just realised Im telling you his whole life story rather than birth story!
Anyway, we were allowed home that day, me with iron as I am still anemic. Midwife came round today and yesterday and is happy with us both. Louis is feeding well, but is a little bit jaundiced bit overall great. He loves being awake and eating at night but sleeps well in the day which is taking a bit of getting used to, but my OH has taken to it like a natural and my mum has been excellent too.
Well that's the end of my essay, sorry I got a bit carried away. I will update with pix once I get round to putting them on the pc.
Well done for reading this far!
Friday, June 02, 2006
38 Weeks Pregnant!
In my maternity notes, there lies my estimated due date; 15th June 2006. It then says something along the lines of "babies arrive 2 weeks before or after this date". We have two weeks. Argh!
Busy week again this week - finally got the travel system, and a few other bits like the mattress and changing mats, all we need now is the cot, then we're done. It's coming in stock this week apparently, and even if we don't get it in time then it's ok as we have the crib and moses basket. Done more washing too, I love it! I bought some fabric softener for the first time as the first batch of clothes I did came out a bit crispy, and I'm in l-o-v-e love! Comfort Pure is the way forward, it smells gorgeous too!
Here is my bump yesterday, at 38 weeks. Excuse the attractive ensemble, but when you're on maternity leave and not seeing anyone, dressing for comfort is the key:
And here is what Babycentre says about week 38... "Can you tell if you're carrying a boy or a girl? One hint may come from the size of your baby -- boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls. Babies at week 39 weigh about 6.8 to 7 pounds / 3 to 3.2 kilograms and continue to build the fat stores that will help regulate body temperature after birth. Your little one's organ systems are fully developed and in place, but the lungs will be last to reach maturity. (Even after your baby is born, it may take a few hours before she establishes a normal breathing pattern.)
Wondering what colour your baby's eyes will be? Most Caucasian babies are born with dark blue eyes and their true eye colour -- be it brown, green or blue -- may not reveal itself for weeks or months. The colour of your baby's eyes in the first minutes after birth won't last -- exposure to light changes a baby's initial eye colour. Most African and Asian babies usually have dark grey or brown eyes at birth -- their dark eyes becoming a true brown or black after the first six months or year. Multiracial children often turn out to have the most beautiful coloured eyes."
Busy week again this week - finally got the travel system, and a few other bits like the mattress and changing mats, all we need now is the cot, then we're done. It's coming in stock this week apparently, and even if we don't get it in time then it's ok as we have the crib and moses basket. Done more washing too, I love it! I bought some fabric softener for the first time as the first batch of clothes I did came out a bit crispy, and I'm in l-o-v-e love! Comfort Pure is the way forward, it smells gorgeous too!
Here is my bump yesterday, at 38 weeks. Excuse the attractive ensemble, but when you're on maternity leave and not seeing anyone, dressing for comfort is the key:
And here is what Babycentre says about week 38... "Can you tell if you're carrying a boy or a girl? One hint may come from the size of your baby -- boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls. Babies at week 39 weigh about 6.8 to 7 pounds / 3 to 3.2 kilograms and continue to build the fat stores that will help regulate body temperature after birth. Your little one's organ systems are fully developed and in place, but the lungs will be last to reach maturity. (Even after your baby is born, it may take a few hours before she establishes a normal breathing pattern.)
Wondering what colour your baby's eyes will be? Most Caucasian babies are born with dark blue eyes and their true eye colour -- be it brown, green or blue -- may not reveal itself for weeks or months. The colour of your baby's eyes in the first minutes after birth won't last -- exposure to light changes a baby's initial eye colour. Most African and Asian babies usually have dark grey or brown eyes at birth -- their dark eyes becoming a true brown or black after the first six months or year. Multiracial children often turn out to have the most beautiful coloured eyes."
Thursday, May 25, 2006
37 Weeks Pregnant!
I've been naughty again and left it yonks - I''ve had so much going on that I just haven't had a chance.
I've left work now - they got me some Tony & Guy vouchers so I'm off to have my hair done next week (wahey) and some trousers. It was weird leaving but I know I'll be back. I don't think it's sunk in yet that I'm not going back for the whole rest of the year, because Jack has been off this week too decorating the house. Next week I'm gonna stay at my Mums house just so I can relax and sort out my room here and get everything finally packed up.
I had my midwife appointment this morning, all was well with baby - it has moved to the left hand side now, which is the ideal position for labour, it's heartbeat was nice and strong, and is 3/5ths palpable. Ooooh I found out what that means! Basically there are 5 parts to the pelvis which the baby goes down in order for the head to become fully engaged. The amount of 5ths palpable refers to the amount of sections it still has to go down, so basically our baby has gone down 2 bits. I asked if the head could come out again, and she said it was very unlikely. I don't have my next appointment now for 10 days.
I also picked up our new car today (wooohooo), being bigger than the Smart it may take a bit of getting used to, but it's nice to know we have another one now.
It's out last NCT class tonight. I can't believe how quickly it has gone, absolutely flown by. I met some of the girls for lunch on Tuesday which was really nice. One of them couldn't make it 'cos it seemed as if she was going into labour! Guess we'll find out tonight whether or not that was the case!
One of the Handbag.com June Mummies is having her baby today too by C-Section as it was breech. I'm so excited for her, but it's really bringing it home that it's going to be my turn soon. I've had so many other things to think about that I haven't really allowed myself time to get nervous, but it's slowly kicking in. 3 weeks til I'm due. Wow.
Here is my bump, taken just now:
Here's what Babycentre.com says about week 37... "Your baby weighs close to 6.5 pounds / 2.8 kilograms and may be about 20 inches / 50 centimetres long from head to toe. Your baby's head is now cradled in your pelvic cavity -- surrounded and protected by your pelvic bones. This position clears some much-needed space for her growing legs and buttocks.
Many babies now have a full head of hair, with locks maybe around one inch / 2.5 centimetres long. But don't be surprised if her hair isn't the same colour as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes taken aback when their children are born with bright red or blond hair, and fair-haired couples likewise can produce babies with dark hair. And then, of course, some babies don't have any hair at all.
Speaking of hair, most of the downy coat of lanugo that covered your baby from 26 weeks has disappeared, and so has most of the vernix caseosa, the whitish substance that also covers her. Your baby will swallow her lanugo and exterior coating, along with other secretions, and store them in her bowels. These will become your infant's first bowel movement, a blackish waste called meconium. Around now many women start worrying about whether they will know if they are in labour."
I've left work now - they got me some Tony & Guy vouchers so I'm off to have my hair done next week (wahey) and some trousers. It was weird leaving but I know I'll be back. I don't think it's sunk in yet that I'm not going back for the whole rest of the year, because Jack has been off this week too decorating the house. Next week I'm gonna stay at my Mums house just so I can relax and sort out my room here and get everything finally packed up.
I had my midwife appointment this morning, all was well with baby - it has moved to the left hand side now, which is the ideal position for labour, it's heartbeat was nice and strong, and is 3/5ths palpable. Ooooh I found out what that means! Basically there are 5 parts to the pelvis which the baby goes down in order for the head to become fully engaged. The amount of 5ths palpable refers to the amount of sections it still has to go down, so basically our baby has gone down 2 bits. I asked if the head could come out again, and she said it was very unlikely. I don't have my next appointment now for 10 days.
I also picked up our new car today (wooohooo), being bigger than the Smart it may take a bit of getting used to, but it's nice to know we have another one now.
It's out last NCT class tonight. I can't believe how quickly it has gone, absolutely flown by. I met some of the girls for lunch on Tuesday which was really nice. One of them couldn't make it 'cos it seemed as if she was going into labour! Guess we'll find out tonight whether or not that was the case!
One of the Handbag.com June Mummies is having her baby today too by C-Section as it was breech. I'm so excited for her, but it's really bringing it home that it's going to be my turn soon. I've had so many other things to think about that I haven't really allowed myself time to get nervous, but it's slowly kicking in. 3 weeks til I'm due. Wow.
Here is my bump, taken just now:
Here's what Babycentre.com says about week 37... "Your baby weighs close to 6.5 pounds / 2.8 kilograms and may be about 20 inches / 50 centimetres long from head to toe. Your baby's head is now cradled in your pelvic cavity -- surrounded and protected by your pelvic bones. This position clears some much-needed space for her growing legs and buttocks.
Many babies now have a full head of hair, with locks maybe around one inch / 2.5 centimetres long. But don't be surprised if her hair isn't the same colour as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes taken aback when their children are born with bright red or blond hair, and fair-haired couples likewise can produce babies with dark hair. And then, of course, some babies don't have any hair at all.
Speaking of hair, most of the downy coat of lanugo that covered your baby from 26 weeks has disappeared, and so has most of the vernix caseosa, the whitish substance that also covers her. Your baby will swallow her lanugo and exterior coating, along with other secretions, and store them in her bowels. These will become your infant's first bowel movement, a blackish waste called meconium. Around now many women start worrying about whether they will know if they are in labour."
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
I'm baaaaack!
I shouldn't have let things slack, but I've really been soooo busy that I haven't had a chance to get to a computer whatsoever.
So here is my little update of what's been going on...
House: we got the keys and have been decorating furiously! Jack has been doing very well with the painting, his parents have helped with the painting and cleaning, and mine are coming up this weekend to help us too. We've got a lot further than I thought we would have by now. We won't move in until it's decorated, and we have our carpet coming in 2 weeks, which we ordered yesterday. I think once we've reached that point it will seem a lot more like ours as it still has touches of the old person in there. She left it sooooo mingingly dirty - there were dog hairs everywhere, and the kitchen and bathrooms seem like they have never been cleaned EVER, so I've spent a lot of time on my hands and knees scrubbing making it all clean enough for us to put our stuff in. Finally we have a nursery! We have painted it now, but this is what it was like when we first got the keys...
So here is my little update of what's been going on...
House: we got the keys and have been decorating furiously! Jack has been doing very well with the painting, his parents have helped with the painting and cleaning, and mine are coming up this weekend to help us too. We've got a lot further than I thought we would have by now. We won't move in until it's decorated, and we have our carpet coming in 2 weeks, which we ordered yesterday. I think once we've reached that point it will seem a lot more like ours as it still has touches of the old person in there. She left it sooooo mingingly dirty - there were dog hairs everywhere, and the kitchen and bathrooms seem like they have never been cleaned EVER, so I've spent a lot of time on my hands and knees scrubbing making it all clean enough for us to put our stuff in. Finally we have a nursery! We have painted it now, but this is what it was like when we first got the keys...
Baby: Has been doing well, poking me with a little foot in my left hand side constantly, but definitely moving down, I can feel it burrowing a lot now! I have the midwife tomorrow so I will find out if the head's engaged any more. I did my first lot of baby washing this evening. My nan had bought us a really nice wool shawl from John Lewis, and I have totally ruined it in the wash, not sure if I should fess up, or replace it. If I have to hand wash it every time it gets dirty though, maybe it's not so practical? I just feel so bad, eek. Here's a pic of my washing!
Me: I've been feeling a lot more uncomfortable and tired. I don't know if the tiredness is associated with the work I've been doing at the house, but I feel like I *have* to do some stuff, and I have been resting lots and trying to keep things as light as possible. Feeling lots of pain in my lower back now, and feeling baby a lot more at night when I want to sleep. Here is my bump tonight, at 35+6 (oh my God, 4 weeks to go!)...
My maternity leave has been bought forward, and I finish THIS FRIDAY!
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Weekend
We've decided to keep our little 2 seater car as it's so cheap to run, and buy a second car for me and baby to use while Jack is at work and that we will all fit in when going out together. We went looking about yesterday but didn't see anything that took our fancy.
In the evening we went for dinner with 2 other couple mates, it was the last chance we *knew* we could see them before baby was born, as we have all the house etc to do. It felt nice to put on some new clothes, I feel like I've been living in the same old things! Not quite sure what I was doing in the pic, but here I am with bump feeling summery (even though it was pouring down!)
In the evening we went for dinner with 2 other couple mates, it was the last chance we *knew* we could see them before baby was born, as we have all the house etc to do. It felt nice to put on some new clothes, I feel like I've been living in the same old things! Not quite sure what I was doing in the pic, but here I am with bump feeling summery (even though it was pouring down!)
Today we got a call from Jack's best mate to tell us that some friends of ours had their baby yesterday morning, a little girl called Maddison -such a lovely name! It brings it on home that out of the 3 pregnant people, I'm the last one to pop, and that means it's me next! Argh!
We went to Ikea and found some sofas we want. We need to check the doors are big enough to get it in, then we're ready to roll! We bought all our crockery, glasses and kitchen bits in the marketplace there.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
34 Weeks Pregnant!
Hip hip hooray, 34 weeks today!
I'm NOT a happy bunny. Discovered my first stretch marks last night. Ok, so they're in not too much of a bad place (top of my legs) - no one will ever see them apart from me and Jack and anyone on any beaches I ever choose to visit. I have been happily slathering on my Bio Oil to the tum and sides totally sidestepping the bum and leg region, I mean - it's the belly that gets "stretched" isn't it? This is just natures way of telling me that I have now got a fat arse if I didn't already think it. Great. Thanks.
It's 25 degrees today and it's absolutely boiling! Jeans were not a good idea this morning. I went to New Look in Marble Arch on my way into work, as they finally have the maternity section in there. Thought they might have some nice skirts, or a dress (I'd seen a lovely one on their site), but no luck. I did get some white linen trousers - a snip at £15, and a couple of long tops. I managed to get foundation on the white top I wore today though, lovely look.
I had the midwife this morning, it was a different midwife which I'd never seen before, but I think she's my favourite! She was so lovely, chatty and we had joky convos as well as serious, I really hope she's present at my birth if any of that team are.
Heartbeat was fine, nice and loud and steady. It was still lying to the right hand side, head down, and starting to engage - it's 4/5ths palpable (whatever that means), I'm off to try and find out!
Bump pics tomorrow. Here's what Babycentre says abotu week 34... "Your baby now weighs more than 5.5 pounds/ 2.5 kilograms and is 19.5 inches/ over 49 centimetres from top to toe. She's filling out and getting rounder -- she'll need her fat layers later to regulate her body temperature.
If you don't already talk to your baby, this is a good time to start -- at 35 weeks her hearing is fully developed. Don't feel ridiculous if you're already chatting in baby talk. Some evidence shows that newborns pay closer attention to high-pitched tones.
If you've been nervous about going into premature labour, you'll be happy to know that 99 per cent of babies born at week 35 can survive outside the womb -- and most have no major problems. Although your baby's central nervous system is still maturing, her lungs are nearly fully developed by now.
Many women start to notice a tingling sensation or numbness in the pelvic region or pain as they walk. This may be caused by the pelvic joints loosening, ready for labour. If you're terribly uncomfortable, mention it to your midwife or doctor and check out our self-help tips."
I'm NOT a happy bunny. Discovered my first stretch marks last night. Ok, so they're in not too much of a bad place (top of my legs) - no one will ever see them apart from me and Jack and anyone on any beaches I ever choose to visit. I have been happily slathering on my Bio Oil to the tum and sides totally sidestepping the bum and leg region, I mean - it's the belly that gets "stretched" isn't it? This is just natures way of telling me that I have now got a fat arse if I didn't already think it. Great. Thanks.
It's 25 degrees today and it's absolutely boiling! Jeans were not a good idea this morning. I went to New Look in Marble Arch on my way into work, as they finally have the maternity section in there. Thought they might have some nice skirts, or a dress (I'd seen a lovely one on their site), but no luck. I did get some white linen trousers - a snip at £15, and a couple of long tops. I managed to get foundation on the white top I wore today though, lovely look.
I had the midwife this morning, it was a different midwife which I'd never seen before, but I think she's my favourite! She was so lovely, chatty and we had joky convos as well as serious, I really hope she's present at my birth if any of that team are.
Heartbeat was fine, nice and loud and steady. It was still lying to the right hand side, head down, and starting to engage - it's 4/5ths palpable (whatever that means), I'm off to try and find out!
Bump pics tomorrow. Here's what Babycentre says abotu week 34... "Your baby now weighs more than 5.5 pounds/ 2.5 kilograms and is 19.5 inches/ over 49 centimetres from top to toe. She's filling out and getting rounder -- she'll need her fat layers later to regulate her body temperature.
If you don't already talk to your baby, this is a good time to start -- at 35 weeks her hearing is fully developed. Don't feel ridiculous if you're already chatting in baby talk. Some evidence shows that newborns pay closer attention to high-pitched tones.
If you've been nervous about going into premature labour, you'll be happy to know that 99 per cent of babies born at week 35 can survive outside the womb -- and most have no major problems. Although your baby's central nervous system is still maturing, her lungs are nearly fully developed by now.
Many women start to notice a tingling sensation or numbness in the pelvic region or pain as they walk. This may be caused by the pelvic joints loosening, ready for labour. If you're terribly uncomfortable, mention it to your midwife or doctor and check out our self-help tips."
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Hospital Tour
The hospital I am booked in to does a tour once a week for people over 34 weeks, so last night I tried to get to it. I made Mum leave work early too so she could ask questions that maybe I wouldn't think of. We were just about on time, then all of a sudden we got chucked off the tube and had to wait 8 mins for a new one, then when we got to the station, our lift wasn't there as expected. I called the hospital to say I was running late, they said it was fine, and met me and mum as we got there. The rest of the tour was already going on and they were all in a delivery room. We got there as the midwife was saying "so any more questions while we're in here" - no one did, then she said, "right, hope you all have good births, bye"! Couldn't believe we'd got there just to hear her say that! Luckily she took us aside, and then gave us our own private tour which very nice of her. She had looked really cross when we got there, but she was actually really nice. The rooms in the Midwife Led Unit are nothing like what I expected, and very similar to the normal delivery rooms, but the lighting is lower, and there is less focus on the beds and more on the other things in there like birthing balls, stools and pools. There are really nice bedrooms there too, which I hope I will get a chance to use rather than get moved onto the ward if I have an overnight stay. The only thing that worried me was when she said occasionally they close. What?! How can you?! What if I need to have my baby?! You HAVE to be open! So I think my plan is to call up as early as possible in labour so they can keep me a space, even though I'm hoping to stay at home for as long as I can last.
Monday, May 01, 2006
33 Weeks Pregnant!
I know, I know, I'm reallllly late in posting this weeks updates, but I've been hecticly busy! We met up with our Aussie friends again and went out to London for the day, but unfortunately on the same day, got a call from the solicitor to say we couldn't complete on the house until 26th May, so that put a downer on the rest of the day - I felt a bit bad on them that we were in grumpy moods! We couldn't stay out too late either as we had ante-natal, it was good again but we were still bummed out from the news.
Friday we had a funeral to go to, to add to the upset! As we were getting ready though, we had a call to say that we can complete on 12th May and would we like to exchange today. We said yes of course, just shows what a bit of an argument can do (my Mum rang them up and said we would pull out if we had to wait that long!). So we got the call on the way to the funeral that we'd exchanged and the house will be ours on 12th! Woohoo! The funeral was really nice (well as nice as a funeral can be I suppose), and think the day went well for the family.
I've just been sorting out my room, putting more and more things into boxes, and yesterday we went to Macro and bought a microwave, toaster and kettle, and bought 30 litres of Dulux from Costco... think we're just about ready for the first stages of redecoration! We went to B&Q this morning and got a tape measure and some radiator paint, and think we're all set now!
Anyway, I won't be as late next week... promise!
Here are my bump pics, but at 33+4...
This is what Babycentre has to say about week 33... "Your baby now weighs about 5 pounds / 2.2 kilograms and measures approximately 19 inches/ 48 centimetres from head to toe. Your baby should already be getting ready for delivery by turning upside-down -- his head should be pointing down. Your doctor or midwife will be paying careful attention to your baby's position in the coming weeks -- some babies do decide to turn back round again.
Your baby's skull is still quite pliable and not completely joined, in part so he can ease out of the relatively narrow birth canal. But the bones in the rest of his body are hardening. Your baby's skin is also gradually becoming less red and wrinkled.
If you're a first-time mother, your child's head may move into the pelvis this week and press firmly against your cervix. (This happens for about half of all first-time mothers.) If you're a second-time mum, you can expect this to happen a week before labour -- and for some this won't happen until the start of labour.
Hoping to manage your labour naturally? Here's all you need to know about natural pain relief. You may notice that your feet and ankles are quite swollen by the end of the day. Water retention, also known as oedema, is often worse in warm weather and late in the day. Surprisingly, keeping hydrated helps reduce water retention. Your body -- particularly your kidneys -- and your baby need plenty of fluids, so drink up. If you suddenly feel swollen or puffy in your hands or face, however, call your doctor -- it may be a sign of pre-eclampsia."
Friday we had a funeral to go to, to add to the upset! As we were getting ready though, we had a call to say that we can complete on 12th May and would we like to exchange today. We said yes of course, just shows what a bit of an argument can do (my Mum rang them up and said we would pull out if we had to wait that long!). So we got the call on the way to the funeral that we'd exchanged and the house will be ours on 12th! Woohoo! The funeral was really nice (well as nice as a funeral can be I suppose), and think the day went well for the family.
I've just been sorting out my room, putting more and more things into boxes, and yesterday we went to Macro and bought a microwave, toaster and kettle, and bought 30 litres of Dulux from Costco... think we're just about ready for the first stages of redecoration! We went to B&Q this morning and got a tape measure and some radiator paint, and think we're all set now!
Anyway, I won't be as late next week... promise!
Here are my bump pics, but at 33+4...
This is what Babycentre has to say about week 33... "Your baby now weighs about 5 pounds / 2.2 kilograms and measures approximately 19 inches/ 48 centimetres from head to toe. Your baby should already be getting ready for delivery by turning upside-down -- his head should be pointing down. Your doctor or midwife will be paying careful attention to your baby's position in the coming weeks -- some babies do decide to turn back round again.
Your baby's skull is still quite pliable and not completely joined, in part so he can ease out of the relatively narrow birth canal. But the bones in the rest of his body are hardening. Your baby's skin is also gradually becoming less red and wrinkled.
If you're a first-time mother, your child's head may move into the pelvis this week and press firmly against your cervix. (This happens for about half of all first-time mothers.) If you're a second-time mum, you can expect this to happen a week before labour -- and for some this won't happen until the start of labour.
Hoping to manage your labour naturally? Here's all you need to know about natural pain relief. You may notice that your feet and ankles are quite swollen by the end of the day. Water retention, also known as oedema, is often worse in warm weather and late in the day. Surprisingly, keeping hydrated helps reduce water retention. Your body -- particularly your kidneys -- and your baby need plenty of fluids, so drink up. If you suddenly feel swollen or puffy in your hands or face, however, call your doctor -- it may be a sign of pre-eclampsia."
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Surprise Surprise!
Today was mad, absolutely mad - total highs and total lows experienced within minutes of each other... hormones ey!
Firstly - woohoo, we have exchanged on the house (yay) and we will be completing next Friday... yes that is a mere 10 days away. I can't quite believe it myself, it seems like forever we have been waiting to get the place, and it's weird that it's now a reality that we ARE actually getting it and it will be ours!
I had an antenatal class this morning - it was women only, 3 hours at the teachers house. It was good but for some reason I was feeling quite shy and not myself, I still joined in though. We learnt some visualisation relaxation techniques, spoke about birth plans, vitamin k, placentas and now I'm writing it up, I can't for the life of me think what else!
I got to work just before 2, and had my lunch. I was feeling really low for some reason and totally out of sorts. I went to the loo and shed a few tears and thought I would be ok. Then my Mum turned up and said I looked tired and the floodgates opened! I was sobbing and sobbing, I really don't know what was up, I just said I felt like rubbish. I didn't feel ill, or wasn't worried about anything, I just wanted to do nothing and wanted to cry and not feel rubbish any more!
After about 5 minutes of consoling she left me to be on my own with a box of tissues, and
next thing I know, I have visitors at the door. I told my Mum I didn't want to see anyone... then I realised who it was! My friend who I have known for about 4 years over the net was over in the UK from Australlia, and it was her! We had planned that I was going to go sightseeing today with her, her hubbie and Tony Mortimer (yes, *that* Tony Mortimer!), but because I had my antenatal class we had rescheduled to meet without Tony on Thursday. I totally wasn't expecting a visit, but the three of them turned up on my doorstep! It was soooo the wrong time, as I had just been blubbing like never before, had a big, puffy, make-up-less face, but also at soooo the right time because it really cheered me up. Anyone who knows me knows that I am/was *such* a massive East 17 fan, and for Amy to organise it, and for her hubbie and Tony to agree to it and not seem to mind, made me feel so much better! They ended up staying for about an hour and a half, and I can honestly say that I don't think I have had a nicer afternoon at work for a long while! We just sat and chatted like we'd all known each other for years, and it was all very friendly and comfortable. I just wish that the only time I ever manage to get a picture of me and Tony after all my teenage years of stalkerdom, I didn't look like the puffball mess I did today! Never mind, it was great! Oh, and Tony predicts a girl... with blonde curly hair! The first person to think a girl so we'll just have to see!
Saturday, April 22, 2006
32+2 Bump Pix etc
Only just got round to taking this week's bump pictures, so here is me 32+2.
We've been very busy - finally agreed a price reduction on the house yesterday, and we're in place to exchange this week, hopefully completing on 5th May! Wooohooo! About bloody time!
This morning we have been out at Homebase, buying paint brushes, rollers, dust sheets etc etc, just a few things to get us going so we don't need to worry about it all at the same time. Paint's cheapest in Costco so we'll have to do a trip there before we exchange.
People have been very nice to me - I have been leant 2 black skirts and black trousers from one of the HB Mummies that's had her baby. I needed something to wear to a funeral next week and she very kindly offered me the loan - they arrived so tried them on to decide what I was going to wear.
Also, arrived home and there was a moses basket set up in our room - one of the neighbours is loaning us their Mamas & Papas basket - so there was me worrying whether or not to get a crib or basket, and now we have both!
Also went and got the iron this morning. None of them said anything about non-constipating, so the sales advisor advised me to take sachets. I really don't know how I will be able to stomach them, but she said to take it in a glass of orange juice, and that will help to absorb the iron too. I got raspberry leaf capsules too. I don't think you start taking them til 34 weeks, but at least I now have them in readiness.
Got a couple more bits for my hospital bag, and got some non-bio washing powder to wash all the baby things we have already. My room looks like such a tip now with all the stuff we have waiting to be moved. But I don't understand, I haven't really even started to box things up yet - it's going to be hard!
We've been very busy - finally agreed a price reduction on the house yesterday, and we're in place to exchange this week, hopefully completing on 5th May! Wooohooo! About bloody time!
This morning we have been out at Homebase, buying paint brushes, rollers, dust sheets etc etc, just a few things to get us going so we don't need to worry about it all at the same time. Paint's cheapest in Costco so we'll have to do a trip there before we exchange.
People have been very nice to me - I have been leant 2 black skirts and black trousers from one of the HB Mummies that's had her baby. I needed something to wear to a funeral next week and she very kindly offered me the loan - they arrived so tried them on to decide what I was going to wear.
Also, arrived home and there was a moses basket set up in our room - one of the neighbours is loaning us their Mamas & Papas basket - so there was me worrying whether or not to get a crib or basket, and now we have both!
Also went and got the iron this morning. None of them said anything about non-constipating, so the sales advisor advised me to take sachets. I really don't know how I will be able to stomach them, but she said to take it in a glass of orange juice, and that will help to absorb the iron too. I got raspberry leaf capsules too. I don't think you start taking them til 34 weeks, but at least I now have them in readiness.
Got a couple more bits for my hospital bag, and got some non-bio washing powder to wash all the baby things we have already. My room looks like such a tip now with all the stuff we have waiting to be moved. But I don't understand, I haven't really even started to box things up yet - it's going to be hard!
Friday, April 21, 2006
Antenatal Class
We had our first antenatal class last night, I really enjoyed it. The other people there were nothing like in my dream, and were all really nice. We were definitely the youngest couple there, but there were a couple of other couples under 30 I reckon.
Last night was about getting to know each other really. We're all due in June which is nice, and all had big bumps! We had to make lists of what we wanted to learn about - the women made one and the men made the other... one of the things the men put down was when to give the woman flowers! Bless!
Didn't do a lot of actual learning, but spoke about breathing, pelvic floor, and not expecting to get back into shape straight away!
Jack seemed to enjoy it too - I think he thought he wasn't going to, but he seemed to have a good time!
Last night was about getting to know each other really. We're all due in June which is nice, and all had big bumps! We had to make lists of what we wanted to learn about - the women made one and the men made the other... one of the things the men put down was when to give the woman flowers! Bless!
Didn't do a lot of actual learning, but spoke about breathing, pelvic floor, and not expecting to get back into shape straight away!
Jack seemed to enjoy it too - I think he thought he wasn't going to, but he seemed to have a good time!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
32 Weeks Pregnant!
Argh 8 weeks to go, how exciting, but how scary!
All's been well with us - apart from my horrendous heartburn. Think that's been down to my chilli and chocolate consumption though.
We have news on the house front, but I'm not going to get too excited about it until we receive the phone call confirming the news. I'll let you know when we get it!
First Ante-Natal class tonight, I dreamt about it last night - hope it's nothing like it was in my dream, bunch of freaks!
Bump pic will have to come over the weekend, but meanwhile, here's what Babycentre says for week 32... "Your baby's arms, legs and body continue to fill out — and they are finally proportional in size to her head. She weighs about 4 pounds/1.8 kilograms and looks more like a newborn. She measures about 18 inches/ 45 centimetres from crown to toe.
You may notice your baby isn't moving around as much. Don't worry; she's just running out of space in your uterus. As long as you can feel her squirming, you'll know she's just fine. Believe it or not, she still has plenty of growing to do. You can expect her to gain at least two more pounds/900 grams before delivery.
Your baby's organs are continuing to mature and she is passing water from her bladder: good practice for the urinating she'll do after she's born. Soon you can wonder what your baby is wishing for — brain scans have shown that fetuses have periods of dream sleep around month eight.
You've probably gained three to four pounds / 1.3 to 1.8 kilograms this month. Gaining a pound/450 grams a week is quite normal during the last trimester as your baby has a final growth spurt before birth."
All's been well with us - apart from my horrendous heartburn. Think that's been down to my chilli and chocolate consumption though.
We have news on the house front, but I'm not going to get too excited about it until we receive the phone call confirming the news. I'll let you know when we get it!
First Ante-Natal class tonight, I dreamt about it last night - hope it's nothing like it was in my dream, bunch of freaks!
Bump pic will have to come over the weekend, but meanwhile, here's what Babycentre says for week 32... "Your baby's arms, legs and body continue to fill out — and they are finally proportional in size to her head. She weighs about 4 pounds/1.8 kilograms and looks more like a newborn. She measures about 18 inches/ 45 centimetres from crown to toe.
You may notice your baby isn't moving around as much. Don't worry; she's just running out of space in your uterus. As long as you can feel her squirming, you'll know she's just fine. Believe it or not, she still has plenty of growing to do. You can expect her to gain at least two more pounds/900 grams before delivery.
Your baby's organs are continuing to mature and she is passing water from her bladder: good practice for the urinating she'll do after she's born. Soon you can wonder what your baby is wishing for — brain scans have shown that fetuses have periods of dream sleep around month eight.
You've probably gained three to four pounds / 1.3 to 1.8 kilograms this month. Gaining a pound/450 grams a week is quite normal during the last trimester as your baby has a final growth spurt before birth."
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Easter Weekend
Friday morning, my Mum and I went to Watford - we had to be back by 12, so we left about 9am in order to get some good shopping in. I bought my bag for hospital, and some bits for it - massive knickers, pads etc. I tried looking for inexpensive front-opening nighties but the ones I saw were either too grannyfied, or had sequins on the front which I don't think would be too nice against a baby's soft face.
We went to John Lewis and Mum bought us a swining crib, matress and sheets for it! Result! We had planned on having the cot in our room until the baby was old enough to go in it's own room, but now we don't have to worry about that. I got a waterproof sheet for use with the cot too while we were there.
We didn't actually end up leaving until 6pm! Woopsie - it always happens when me and Mum are together. I was so tired and my feet were so achey. On the way back to the car we went into Woolworths. I plonked myself down on one of the chairs, rang Jack, and then promptly put the phone on the seat next to me rather than back in my bag. 5 minutes after leaving the shop I had a rumage in my bag to try and find the time, and realised I didn't have my phone. As fast as my bump would allow, I waddled back, and it was still there - in the seat! I love the people of Watford for not stealing it!
Saturday morning I still felt exhausted. I had to get up cos we had The Easter Egg Hunt. Jack still wasn't well and was at home, so I hunted for the both of us. I came away with quite a find, and reported back to Jack at the end. We all watched Madagascar, then it was time for my family to go - they were staying with friends for the rest of the Easter break. I was bummed out with no Jack for company, so I ate one of my Easter eggs.
Later on Jack called and said he was feeling a bit better and he was going to drive up to see me - hooray! He came round, we watched Twins, got KFC, then went and I let him open all the things I'd ordered in the Play.com sale. One of the DVDs I got was Bugsy Malone, which I have never seen and he's always been so sure I'd love it, so we put that on then went to sleep.
Sunday we spent the whollllllle day in bed. Jack still wasn't feeling 100% and it was nice just to relax and do nuffink. If I was on my own it would have been crap, but I like it when Jack's there, we can talk about the tele or have a little snuggle, and it makes it nice.
Yesterday Jack was feeling a lot better. We decided we'd go and have a look in the sales - sofas have about a 10 week delivery on them, so we thought if we did see anything we would order it, and hopefully would be in by then. Considering we have just over 8 weeks til baby is due, we bloody well better be in by then!
DFS had a half price sale on, so we thought that would be our best bet. Only problem was, we fell in love with a sofa that wasn't in the sale - and comes up £800 over budget. We decided to have a think about it, and see if we can magic some money from anywhere.
We drove back to Jack's house. His Mum's friends were round - her Mum had knitted the baby 3 cardigans, really sweet of her.
I had my first leaky nipples experience yesteray too - it was, erm, shocking. I'm constantly whipping them out of my top now to see if they're leaking. Need to stop that before it becomes a habit!
We went to John Lewis and Mum bought us a swining crib, matress and sheets for it! Result! We had planned on having the cot in our room until the baby was old enough to go in it's own room, but now we don't have to worry about that. I got a waterproof sheet for use with the cot too while we were there.
We didn't actually end up leaving until 6pm! Woopsie - it always happens when me and Mum are together. I was so tired and my feet were so achey. On the way back to the car we went into Woolworths. I plonked myself down on one of the chairs, rang Jack, and then promptly put the phone on the seat next to me rather than back in my bag. 5 minutes after leaving the shop I had a rumage in my bag to try and find the time, and realised I didn't have my phone. As fast as my bump would allow, I waddled back, and it was still there - in the seat! I love the people of Watford for not stealing it!
Saturday morning I still felt exhausted. I had to get up cos we had The Easter Egg Hunt. Jack still wasn't well and was at home, so I hunted for the both of us. I came away with quite a find, and reported back to Jack at the end. We all watched Madagascar, then it was time for my family to go - they were staying with friends for the rest of the Easter break. I was bummed out with no Jack for company, so I ate one of my Easter eggs.
Later on Jack called and said he was feeling a bit better and he was going to drive up to see me - hooray! He came round, we watched Twins, got KFC, then went and I let him open all the things I'd ordered in the Play.com sale. One of the DVDs I got was Bugsy Malone, which I have never seen and he's always been so sure I'd love it, so we put that on then went to sleep.
Sunday we spent the whollllllle day in bed. Jack still wasn't feeling 100% and it was nice just to relax and do nuffink. If I was on my own it would have been crap, but I like it when Jack's there, we can talk about the tele or have a little snuggle, and it makes it nice.
Yesterday Jack was feeling a lot better. We decided we'd go and have a look in the sales - sofas have about a 10 week delivery on them, so we thought if we did see anything we would order it, and hopefully would be in by then. Considering we have just over 8 weeks til baby is due, we bloody well better be in by then!
DFS had a half price sale on, so we thought that would be our best bet. Only problem was, we fell in love with a sofa that wasn't in the sale - and comes up £800 over budget. We decided to have a think about it, and see if we can magic some money from anywhere.
We drove back to Jack's house. His Mum's friends were round - her Mum had knitted the baby 3 cardigans, really sweet of her.
I had my first leaky nipples experience yesteray too - it was, erm, shocking. I'm constantly whipping them out of my top now to see if they're leaking. Need to stop that before it becomes a habit!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
31 Weeks Pregnant!
From 9 months to 9 weeks - time has flown. Really can't believe there is 9 weeks to go until my due date.
I had a midwife appointment this morning, everything was fine. She has advised I started taking iron tablets to help with my breathlessness, but other than that nothing to report. Baby measured right for the dates, and we heard the heartbeat nice and clearly. It was 140bpm if I read her machine correctly!
Jack is really ill. He can't hold any food or drink down at all, just keeps throwing up. He went in to work, but had to come straight back. Just before the Easter holidays poor thing. I've decided I'm not going to go visit him incase it's something I can catch and could be potentially dangerous. His parents are away too so he's suffering alone. Wish I could make him better.
Baby Centre says this for week 31... "Your baby's lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed. While your baby may soon slow up growing in length, (he measures about 17.25 inches/ 45 centimetres from crown to toe by now), he will continue to gain weight until he's born.
This week your baby continues to open and shut his eyes. He can probably see what's going on in utero, distinguish light from dark and even track a light source. If you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move his head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow. Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But don't expect 20/20 vision when your baby is born — newborns can see a distance of only about 8 to 12 inches/ 20 to 30 centimetres. (Children with normal vision don't reach 20/20 vision until about age 7 to 9.) To complete the picture, your baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes.
A pint and a half/around a litre of amniotic fluid now surrounds your baby but that volume decreases as he gets bigger and has less room in your uterus. As you and the baby continue to grow, don't be alarmed if you feel breathless, as if you can't get enough air; it's just your uterus pressing against your diaphragm. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. At about 34 weeks (or just before delivery, if this is your second or third pregnancy), your baby's head will move down into your pelvis as the baby gets into the right position for birth. That will make breathing and eating a lot easier."
Bump pics will come later on
I had a midwife appointment this morning, everything was fine. She has advised I started taking iron tablets to help with my breathlessness, but other than that nothing to report. Baby measured right for the dates, and we heard the heartbeat nice and clearly. It was 140bpm if I read her machine correctly!
Jack is really ill. He can't hold any food or drink down at all, just keeps throwing up. He went in to work, but had to come straight back. Just before the Easter holidays poor thing. I've decided I'm not going to go visit him incase it's something I can catch and could be potentially dangerous. His parents are away too so he's suffering alone. Wish I could make him better.
Baby Centre says this for week 31... "Your baby's lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed. While your baby may soon slow up growing in length, (he measures about 17.25 inches/ 45 centimetres from crown to toe by now), he will continue to gain weight until he's born.
This week your baby continues to open and shut his eyes. He can probably see what's going on in utero, distinguish light from dark and even track a light source. If you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move his head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow. Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But don't expect 20/20 vision when your baby is born — newborns can see a distance of only about 8 to 12 inches/ 20 to 30 centimetres. (Children with normal vision don't reach 20/20 vision until about age 7 to 9.) To complete the picture, your baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes.
A pint and a half/around a litre of amniotic fluid now surrounds your baby but that volume decreases as he gets bigger and has less room in your uterus. As you and the baby continue to grow, don't be alarmed if you feel breathless, as if you can't get enough air; it's just your uterus pressing against your diaphragm. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. At about 34 weeks (or just before delivery, if this is your second or third pregnancy), your baby's head will move down into your pelvis as the baby gets into the right position for birth. That will make breathing and eating a lot easier."
Bump pics will come later on
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Stress
Life - you plod along, day by day, nicely minding your own business. It's exciting albeit stressful at times, but you deal with it, get over it, and don't let it get you down. Yesterday, either my stress threshold has changed, my hormones were all over the place, or it was a very stressful day.
It's too much of a long story to even go into it - but basically it ended with very irate clients on the phone to me having a go at me for something that wasn't my fault. And because it was regarding a job that was done in the middle of the night (i.e. when I was nicely tucked up in bed), I didn't know enough to back the situation up. This resulted in me putting down the phone after 5 minutes of blame, and balling my eyes out.
After lunch, another client came over, and bought with him a selection of yummy cakes. It made me feel so much better and it can make such a difference when people are nice. I don't want to ever be horrid.
Then end of the day another client turned up balling her eyes out, pissed as a fart, and I had to sit and console her for half an hour, even though I should have been on that tube on the way to my relaxing bath. Hope she's ok this morning.
New dawn, new day. The madmadmad clients are due in this morning, I'm scared! Might make out I'm on the phone when they come in, don't know if I can face them.
It's too much of a long story to even go into it - but basically it ended with very irate clients on the phone to me having a go at me for something that wasn't my fault. And because it was regarding a job that was done in the middle of the night (i.e. when I was nicely tucked up in bed), I didn't know enough to back the situation up. This resulted in me putting down the phone after 5 minutes of blame, and balling my eyes out.
After lunch, another client came over, and bought with him a selection of yummy cakes. It made me feel so much better and it can make such a difference when people are nice. I don't want to ever be horrid.
Then end of the day another client turned up balling her eyes out, pissed as a fart, and I had to sit and console her for half an hour, even though I should have been on that tube on the way to my relaxing bath. Hope she's ok this morning.
New dawn, new day. The madmadmad clients are due in this morning, I'm scared! Might make out I'm on the phone when they come in, don't know if I can face them.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Nestings Started
Saturday morning we got up early to go to Ikea. We saw lots of things we liked and got lots of inspiration. We've found the dining table, chest of drawers and mirror, and some furniture for the baby's room. Didn't buy anything, but wrote it all down so once we have the place we can go go go. I really thought I was going into labour at one point when we were in there though! Lucky there were loads of beds and chairs all over the place, had a chance to compose myself. Maybe that's what Braxton Hicks are like?
On the way home we popped into the bookies to have a flutter on the Grand National. I put £2 each way on Nil Desperandum, and it came in 4th! So I won £22! Wish I'd put more on now!
We met up with our friends to go to a German Fair which they had said their town was holding. It was pants - about 5 stalls in total, and probably only 2 German people there! When I asked the 'Dutch Cookie Man' if they had any Mohn Kuchen (a lovely German poppy-seed cake), he looked at me like I was a nutter and said "nah". The beer tent only sold beer and had no heating, and we were the only people in there, so stayed for one then went.
We found a lovely Indian Restaurant for dinner - realllllly realllllly nice, it all tasted so fresh and delicious, and was gorgeous inside. And us ladies got given a rose when we left - definitely be going back there again!
We stayed round at our friends house, but now we are early risers, we decided to get dressed and go and do something with the day. We went to Macro and got more inspiration and more ideas - there's so much that we need! Again, didn't buy anything but it was good. Went to Pizza Express for lunch which was yummy but not as yummy as usual and normally I can polish off 3 courses in there but just about managed 1.5 yesterday.
We came home and watched Mr & Mrs Smith on DVD - it was ok, but very long. Then I think I got the nesting bug, I just had to clean and tidy and sort! I even got the bottle of polish out on my bedroom mirrors and scrubbed and scrubbed! Even this morning I got all my clothes out on my bed for me to put on before I went to get washed!
On the way home we popped into the bookies to have a flutter on the Grand National. I put £2 each way on Nil Desperandum, and it came in 4th! So I won £22! Wish I'd put more on now!
We met up with our friends to go to a German Fair which they had said their town was holding. It was pants - about 5 stalls in total, and probably only 2 German people there! When I asked the 'Dutch Cookie Man' if they had any Mohn Kuchen (a lovely German poppy-seed cake), he looked at me like I was a nutter and said "nah". The beer tent only sold beer and had no heating, and we were the only people in there, so stayed for one then went.
We found a lovely Indian Restaurant for dinner - realllllly realllllly nice, it all tasted so fresh and delicious, and was gorgeous inside. And us ladies got given a rose when we left - definitely be going back there again!
We stayed round at our friends house, but now we are early risers, we decided to get dressed and go and do something with the day. We went to Macro and got more inspiration and more ideas - there's so much that we need! Again, didn't buy anything but it was good. Went to Pizza Express for lunch which was yummy but not as yummy as usual and normally I can polish off 3 courses in there but just about managed 1.5 yesterday.
We came home and watched Mr & Mrs Smith on DVD - it was ok, but very long. Then I think I got the nesting bug, I just had to clean and tidy and sort! I even got the bottle of polish out on my bedroom mirrors and scrubbed and scrubbed! Even this morning I got all my clothes out on my bed for me to put on before I went to get washed!
Friday, April 07, 2006
30+1
Thursday, April 06, 2006
30 Weeks Pregnant!
Oh my God, I haven't updated for a week, I'm getting lazy! More effort will be put in over this week... promise!
So much has been going on, that to be honest, I haven't had time to think about much! We got the mortgage offer through on the house, but they're retaining a small amount in relation to the quote we provided them with for the work that would need to be done. I called the estate agents on Tuesday morning to make them aware of this fact, and for them to request the vendor reduces her asking price in accordance with this retention figure. Thursday afternoon, and guess what, still no answer from the estate agents. I have left 5 messages with them and finally was allowed to speak to the lady dealing with our property only to be told she knew nothing about this. Grrrr. So anyway, she has until tomorrow. Or I will scream! If she says yes, we have nothing to stop us completing now. She could, however, say no. It was a high quote. She could get the work done herself and then provide us with the proof it's been done, but then that's another time issue, so keeping our fingers crossed that she just wants to take the easy route and says yes. It's only £1000 which in the grand scheme of things isn't a massive amount for an easy life. Our solicitor had said she'd been pushing to exchange, so hopefully hopefully she'll agree and we'll still be in in April!
Pregnancy wise this last week - heartburn has come back, in fact I have it now. And I've started craving mint choc chip Cornettos. Can I find any in any newsagent I go in though? No! They're all manky old half chewed, or melted and then re-frozen ones. A supermarket trip this weekend might be in order this weekend me thinks!
Also got quite emotional over silly things recently. Yesterday, went to the toilet at work, and the person before me had used all the toilet roll without replacing it. This is no major issue as there is a new roll within 30cms, but them not having done it themselves made me burst into tears! Then I had to stay half an hour late at work which set me off yet again. Later in the evening I got some really bad personal news about someone close to me, and I didn't cry - I don't get it. That made me feel even more guilty.
And speaking of loo's - wow, reallllly struggling with sleeping all the way through at night time. I'm up at least twice a night now needing to wee, but also wake up anyway and go back to sleep straight away, but very aware of having woken up.
Here is Babycentre's rundown of week 30... "Your baby now weighs 3 pounds / 1.3 kilograms and measures about 17 inches / 44 centimetres from head to toe. In boys, testicles descend from near the kidneys through the groin en route to the scrotum. In girls, the clitoris is relatively prominent because it's not yet covered by the still-small labia. These will grow to cover it in the last few weeks before birth.
Your baby's head is getting bigger, and brain growth is very rapid at this time. Nearly all babies react to sound by 30 weeks.
Your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during the third trimester. You'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and calcium (about 200 milligrams is deposited in your baby's skeleton every day), so eat foods rich in these nutrients. The skeleton hardens even more and the brain, muscles, and lungs continue to mature."
Bump pix tomorrow or the weekend!
So much has been going on, that to be honest, I haven't had time to think about much! We got the mortgage offer through on the house, but they're retaining a small amount in relation to the quote we provided them with for the work that would need to be done. I called the estate agents on Tuesday morning to make them aware of this fact, and for them to request the vendor reduces her asking price in accordance with this retention figure. Thursday afternoon, and guess what, still no answer from the estate agents. I have left 5 messages with them and finally was allowed to speak to the lady dealing with our property only to be told she knew nothing about this. Grrrr. So anyway, she has until tomorrow. Or I will scream! If she says yes, we have nothing to stop us completing now. She could, however, say no. It was a high quote. She could get the work done herself and then provide us with the proof it's been done, but then that's another time issue, so keeping our fingers crossed that she just wants to take the easy route and says yes. It's only £1000 which in the grand scheme of things isn't a massive amount for an easy life. Our solicitor had said she'd been pushing to exchange, so hopefully hopefully she'll agree and we'll still be in in April!
Pregnancy wise this last week - heartburn has come back, in fact I have it now. And I've started craving mint choc chip Cornettos. Can I find any in any newsagent I go in though? No! They're all manky old half chewed, or melted and then re-frozen ones. A supermarket trip this weekend might be in order this weekend me thinks!
Also got quite emotional over silly things recently. Yesterday, went to the toilet at work, and the person before me had used all the toilet roll without replacing it. This is no major issue as there is a new roll within 30cms, but them not having done it themselves made me burst into tears! Then I had to stay half an hour late at work which set me off yet again. Later in the evening I got some really bad personal news about someone close to me, and I didn't cry - I don't get it. That made me feel even more guilty.
And speaking of loo's - wow, reallllly struggling with sleeping all the way through at night time. I'm up at least twice a night now needing to wee, but also wake up anyway and go back to sleep straight away, but very aware of having woken up.
Here is Babycentre's rundown of week 30... "Your baby now weighs 3 pounds / 1.3 kilograms and measures about 17 inches / 44 centimetres from head to toe. In boys, testicles descend from near the kidneys through the groin en route to the scrotum. In girls, the clitoris is relatively prominent because it's not yet covered by the still-small labia. These will grow to cover it in the last few weeks before birth.
Your baby's head is getting bigger, and brain growth is very rapid at this time. Nearly all babies react to sound by 30 weeks.
Your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during the third trimester. You'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and calcium (about 200 milligrams is deposited in your baby's skeleton every day), so eat foods rich in these nutrients. The skeleton hardens even more and the brain, muscles, and lungs continue to mature."
Bump pix tomorrow or the weekend!
Thursday, March 30, 2006
29 Weeks Bump Pix!
29 Weeks Pregnant!
I went to Bravissimo yesterday and got refitted, now a 36 DD woah! I have to go back 4 weeks before I'm due to get fitted for a nursing bra. My new bras give me a much nicer shape than the Shock Absorbers I was wearing!
I went to H&M too and picked up 5 nice summery tops, and my bill only came to £54 - excellent!
Now I'm 29 weeks, I really can't believe it! It's so scary how soon baby could be here! We have two big whiteboards at work which act as diary's, one month to each, and at the bottom of the second one, I can see my leaving date! I thought it was wrong when I saw it, but it's so soon!
Here is what Babycentre says about week 29... "You're in the home stretch. The third trimester typically starts at week 29 and lasts until week 40 and sometimes even beyond. (Don't worry — 42 weeks is the maximum! After that, a woman usually is induced to give birth.) Most women gain an average of 11 pounds/ 5 kilograms during this trimester.
By this week, your baby weighs nearly 3 pounds/ 1.3 kilograms and may measure 16.5 inches/ 42 centimetres from top to toe. At about this time, your baby can open his eyes and turn his head in utero if he notices a continuous, bright light shining from the outside. His fat layers are forming and his fingernails appear.
You're probably vacillating between feeling as if you've been pregnant forever and being nervous about childbirth. Checking off things on your to-do list can help. Start selecting possible baby names and begin thinking about life after the birth as well.
You'll probably be seeing your midwife more often in these last few weeks."
I went to H&M too and picked up 5 nice summery tops, and my bill only came to £54 - excellent!
Now I'm 29 weeks, I really can't believe it! It's so scary how soon baby could be here! We have two big whiteboards at work which act as diary's, one month to each, and at the bottom of the second one, I can see my leaving date! I thought it was wrong when I saw it, but it's so soon!
Here is what Babycentre says about week 29... "You're in the home stretch. The third trimester typically starts at week 29 and lasts until week 40 and sometimes even beyond. (Don't worry — 42 weeks is the maximum! After that, a woman usually is induced to give birth.) Most women gain an average of 11 pounds/ 5 kilograms during this trimester.
By this week, your baby weighs nearly 3 pounds/ 1.3 kilograms and may measure 16.5 inches/ 42 centimetres from top to toe. At about this time, your baby can open his eyes and turn his head in utero if he notices a continuous, bright light shining from the outside. His fat layers are forming and his fingernails appear.
You're probably vacillating between feeling as if you've been pregnant forever and being nervous about childbirth. Checking off things on your to-do list can help. Start selecting possible baby names and begin thinking about life after the birth as well.
You'll probably be seeing your midwife more often in these last few weeks."
Bump pics to come tonight!
Sunday, March 26, 2006
28 Week Bump Pix
I am so tired, I cant understand why I am awake, and on here.
Last night we had a massive birthday party for Mum. I didn't get to sleep until nearly 3am, and was awake early this morning. We went out for a Mother's Day lunch, and I felt like a zombie - absolutely knackered and just wanted to be in bed. At 7 o'clock, I got into bed, and could have fallen asleep, but decided to look through the Babies R Us and Mothercare catalogues, and then watch some tv. I turned the tele off at 10.30 and just have a million things going round in my head. I keep thinking about boxing things up. I was going to get up and box things up. I can't believe it! After looking at all the stuff that is piled up near the pile of boxes, I decided against it and remembered that I haven't stuck my 28 week bump pic up yet, so that's what I'm here to do, as well as hopefully make my eyes tired from staring at the computer screen.
I'm already dreading work tomorrow.
Here's the bump, 28 weeks...
Last night we had a massive birthday party for Mum. I didn't get to sleep until nearly 3am, and was awake early this morning. We went out for a Mother's Day lunch, and I felt like a zombie - absolutely knackered and just wanted to be in bed. At 7 o'clock, I got into bed, and could have fallen asleep, but decided to look through the Babies R Us and Mothercare catalogues, and then watch some tv. I turned the tele off at 10.30 and just have a million things going round in my head. I keep thinking about boxing things up. I was going to get up and box things up. I can't believe it! After looking at all the stuff that is piled up near the pile of boxes, I decided against it and remembered that I haven't stuck my 28 week bump pic up yet, so that's what I'm here to do, as well as hopefully make my eyes tired from staring at the computer screen.
I'm already dreading work tomorrow.
Here's the bump, 28 weeks...
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