25 weeks pregnant…

Today I am 25 weeks pregnant exactly – that means only 16 weeks, 3 days to go, maximum!

I am feeling ok. Tired, but nothing to complain about really. I’m ok in the day, mainly, but am shattered by the evening and always falling asleep on the sofa. Hard to tell really how much of that is pregnancy, and how much is working and having two children!

Last week I went for a gestational diabetes test. Despite the two previous pregnancies, this was a first for me. I was told to have it because of family history – although it has never been flagged up before. It was a very simple process, in fact, I was quite looking forward to it as I got to visit the hospital’s relatively posh antenatal day unit, and spend two hours relaxing and reading a book – bit of a treat that! Basically, I had to fast from midnight the night before, go in at 8.30am to have a blood test, drink half a pint of sugary stuff and then relax for two hours before having another blood test. As expected the results came back normal. I don’t know how gestational diabetes works but if I hadn’t had it the past two times I would’ve been surprised to get it now. And it would’ve meant cutting back on the amount of sweets and chocolate I ate… total disaster!

While I was in the unit I had the third attempt at the 20 week scan, where the registrar and consultant tried again to look at this illusive ‘outlet pipe’ in baby’s heart. Can you believe that for the third time there she was, lying on her tummy curled up into the tightest ball you ever saw? The consultant reassured me that he doesn’t suspect any abnormality, but he simply cannot see what he needs to see when she is stubbornly in that position. So it will be attempt number four in four weeks from now!

All I can hope is that this baby is not as stubborn once she is actually born!

 

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Second attempt at a 20 week scan…

Turns out baby number three is the most uncooperative baby so far when it comes to scanning!

We went back to the hospital today in the hope that baby would be less inclined to stay curled up in a tight ball so that the sonographer could finish off where she had to leave off two weeks ago.

This time we had to take Isla with us, although Lilly was at nursery – Isla lasted all of 30 seconds before she got upset and started crying, so Tony had to take her back out to the waiting room.

The sonographer did manage to get a look at some of the things she couldn’t see last time – the kidneys, cord, and some parts of the heart, but unfortunately as baby was stubbornly lying on her tummy and refusing to move regardless of any change of position, she still couldn’t see the top of the heart and the “out pipe” (whatever that is). So the upshot is that in two weeks time, at 24 weeks, a consultant will try again to get a glimpse of this illusive child!

I am booked in for a gestational diabetes test then anyway, so at least it doesn’t mean an additional trip to the hospital.

We had one 20 week scan with Lilly, two with Isla, so I suppose it makes sense that the third child will take three attempts!

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20 week scan… and the big reveal…

Baby no.3 is…. ANOTHER GIRL!!

We had our 20 week scan this week and were excited to find out whether our new family member was going to be pink or blue… after two previous girlies it was no big surprise to hear the sonographer say: “looks like a girl to me!”.

Most friends and family had guessed it would be a girl, and Tony and I also suspected that maybe the girlie genes would be at work yet again.

Now we are left with an issue as we think we have run out of girls names that we could possibly agree on… and will probably spend the next five months dismissing each other’s suggestions! (So far he has said no to my brilliant ideas which have included Jasmine, Daisy and Poppy – and an all time favourite, Lorna, and I wasn’t overly impressed with his suggestions of Tia or Leah).

Other than that the scan went fine, up until the point when little madame decided enough was enough and curled up into a tight ball – despite asking me to walk around and tipping me up one way and than another on the bed the baby would not be moved so the sonographer has asked us to come back in a few weeks so she can finish off with the measurements she didn’t manage to take.

It was just lovely, as always, to see this little person on the screen. We saw really clear hands and feet – at one point the baby was pointing with both hands, and we also saw a very clear shot of two little baby feet side by side. The sonographer also commented that she kept stroking herself on the head – her biggest sister is a big fan of stroking her face to help her get to sleep too.

After the scan it was time to share the good news with everyone and I had to give the news to a colleague in work, whose little girl is due in a couple of weeks, that she wouldn’t be getting a bumper back of baby girl clothes from me after all!

Lilly was very excited to find out if she was getting a brother or a sister – she had really wanted it to be a brother and to call it Daniel, after her best friend, but she was much more diplomatic than you’d expect from a three year old and, although she was slightly disappointed, she soon warmed to the idea. Now she has been saying: “I like girls the best, girls are the best, aren’t they mum?” And she wants to call the baby Olivia.

So, there we go – a third girl! Wow.

 

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22 weeks pregnant

Well, here we are… 22 weeks pregnant… time is really rushing by!

We had our re-scan on Thursday after the first 20 week scan failed to pick up the baby’s stomach. I’m pleased to say, this time, everything was absolutely fine and baby had a nice full tummy which enabled the sonographer to measure everything she needed to. I also asked her to double check that it is a girl… she had a little look then said: “I’m pretty sure those are girlie bits…” well, they looked that way to me!

Afterwards, Tony and I went out for a bit of lunch and in the nightime we had a rare meal out at the local Indian while Tony’s mum babysat. We were back by 10 but came home and watched a programme on TV called One Born Every Minute, which is a fly on the wall documentary about a maternity hospital in Southampton. Obviously I ended up in tears at the story of one lady who had a c-section and her baby was whisked away to ICU straight away as his bowels had developed outside his body… poor little mite.

That same morning I had also had a midwife appointment at the local GPs. She listened to the heartbeat (and said: “I would’ve known that was a girl, from the heartbeat” – to be fair she said that last time, when she didn’t know, and was right!) She also did that farcical tape measure thing and pronounced that it was 23 cm which is “right”. Personally I just cannot believe measuring a persons belly tells you much about the size of the baby inside, so I take all that with many pinches of salt!

In terms of how I’m feeling – not too bad, tired mainly. I do have the odd achey feelings down there, and was thinking yesterday that my boobs are feeling a bit tender again. Baby is kicking loads, which is lovely, at all times of the day and night. You can actually see my bump moving when she’s going for it!

We were also excited to find out this week that some of our close friends are also expecting a baby – Lilly’s godfather and his wife. They are due at the beginning of August, so there will only be a month or two between our children, which will be really lovely. We were the first of all our friends to have a baby, and still don’t have any friends living close by who do (except my NCT friends). So this will be really nice, and we’re really chuffed for them.

It does feel like time is marching on… it’s nearly March… then we’ve only got April and then we’re into May, which will be finishing work and almost time for our little girl to arrive!

I have just been looking back at my blog from when I was roughly at this stage with Lilly. We had just been working out our childcare / return to work options. This time we have made our decisions a little earlier. We know just how tight money was last time when on leave, and this will probably only be worse because of the expense of two children, and Lilly staying one day in nursery.

So, we’ve decided that I’ll be having another six months off, returning in January, full time. However, I’ll use leave to make the return to full time a little bit more gradually, probably spread over about three months. Lilly and the new baby will work their way from two to three to four days a week in nursery. However, if Tony stays doing the shifts he is doing now, these will only be short days, maybe even half days for the baby for a bit. Tony’s mum will have them both one day a week, as she does with Lilly now. She is talking about retiring perhaps next year (although I’ll believe it when I see it!) and maybe if she does she might take them for an extra day or half day. Luckily, Lilly will get 15 hours free nursery from Jan 1 2011, which is one day after her third birthday! And that will certainly ease the burden financially, although obviously what we’re paying out on childcare will go up quite a bit.

Luckily, we’re very happy with the nursery Lilly goes to, and as far as they go, it’s a reasonable price. So, number two is already all booked up and although that feels a little weird at such an early stage, it’s good to have a plan (even if we end up adapting it slightly, like last time).

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20 week scan… it’s a……

GIRL!!

 

The sonographer said she was confident to tell us what it was after only about ten seconds of scanning – before I could even make out the shape of a baby even!!

I cried when she told us, I just felt so happy and emotional. I honestly was convinced it was a boy, and have been all along! I would’ve also cried with happiness if it had been a boy, I really did not mind… I think just knowing what you’re having makes you feel an even stronger bond, and makes you really realise who this new little life might be!

I’m also really excited about Lilly having a little sister. I just hope they get on well together and have a good close relationship that hopefully will be lifelong. I hope the 2 and a half year age gap will make that more likely – either that or they’ll fight like cat and dog (or both, I suppose!!)

The scan itself was very clear, really really brilliant. We saw hands, feet, legs, arms, lots of ribs…. and even at one point a full face-on image of the baby – you could make out her eyes, nose, mouth, chin… incredible!

The sonographer said all was ok, everything looks as it should and baby is measuring spot on. However, she wasn’t able to scan the stomach as it was empty. She said it can take up to seven hours for a baby in the womb to fill its tummy, so there was no point in her sending us back out to the waiting room until later. She has booked us in in two weeks time for an additional scan to double check alls ok. I was completely reassured that it was nothing abnormal, nothing to worry about, buy hubby is a real worrier so has been worrying about this ever since. But, at least we get to see little bubba again in two weeks time!!!

When I picked Lilly up from nursery, I said to her: “Lilly, do you want a little sister?” she said “I want a story!” So safe to say she was underwhelmed with the news so far!!!!

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13 weeks three days – still feeling sick

Well, I am now totally “out of the closet” at work, in the family and with friends, which feels good!

But just as I thought the morning sickness was fading a little it seems to have reared its head again – I felt terrible all day yesterday. However, I’m starting to think it might have been connected to not drinking enough water… I usually drink water all day at work but didn’t have much to drink yesterday, and today, as I started feeling a bit peculiar again, I started drinking and it seems to have kept it at bay. So, maybe I have a bit of a strategy from now on!

It’s also worth reporting that I had my swine flu jab last week - at 13 weeks pregnant. The jab itself was fine - my arm ached like crazy that night though and if I wasn’t pregnant I would definitely have been reaching for the pain killers! It’s still a bit sore a few days later, but nothing too bad. I feel glad that I’ve had the jab now as I’m protected and don’t have to worry when I hear horror stories about women dying in labour or after having emergency sections.

Aside from that, there’s not much new to report, suppose I am just getting impatient to start feeling kicks now… although it will likely still be a few weeks yet. I have my 20 week scan at the end of January, and I think with the excitement of Christmas and Lilly’s second birthday that is going to arrive so quickly… and then I’ll be half way through the pregnancy!!!! Quite scary really, and I think time is just going to fly by…

I have an appointment with the consultant in between Christmas and New Year where hopefully we’ll be able to discuss the birth – both Lilly’s and the one I want this time. To be honest, I have a bit of a fear about this birth – and a bit of a realisation this morning that this might get worse as time goes on. I suppose the crux of the matter is I really, really want a VBAC. But I’m so scared that I won’t be able to do it – that when it comes to the crunch I won’t have the determination or resolve to birth naturally, that they’ll offer me an “easy way out” and I’ll take it. Do I really want it as much as I think I do? Can I be strong enough? Can I cope with the pain and the pushing and everything? Will i get the support I need or will I be unlucky and end up with a horrible midwife who isn’t encouraging and doesn’t help me?

And on the practical side – will they want me strapped down on a monitor, unable to move around and help things along naturally? Will they start messing with me too early on then put me on this stupid “time restriction” by which I must’ve reached a certain dilation or they threaten me with more intervention or surgery?

This time the birth feels like such an uncertainty – something that I perhaps have little or no control over. If the baby is breach, they’ll be telling me to have an elective section. If the baby is overdue, likewise.

I haven’t thought all that much about the birth yet, but as you can see, when I do, I feel a bit overwhelmed with worries. It wasn’t like this with Lilly at all – I just trusted that all would be fine, and it never crossed my mind that I’d have a section, let alone under a general anaesthetic. I really don’t want that again – I just want to be normal!

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It’s a girl!!

We had our 20 week scan this afternoon and the sonographer told us she’s pretty confident we are having a baby girl!!

All was well with the scan, everything appeared as it should. Little girlie wasn’t very cooperative despite a pep talk (and a Mars bar for energy) beforehand – she was curled up tight in a little ball and didn’t move much!

It was so much harder to make out what we were looking at as she has grown so much since the 12 week scan. Tony was much better at understanding what he was looking at than me – he said he knew it was a girl even before the sonographer told us!!!

So, a little baby daughter for us! We went afterwards to Mothercare and bought our little girl a pink snowsuit and a little cuddly lion toy!

Took it round to Tony’s mum and dads and made them guess (they were wrong!) then held them up the pink outfit to show them it was a girl!

Spoke to my mum on the phone as well, she was delighted!

However, now the questions have started about what the name will be. Well, we have decided, but we are NOT telling! We don’t want everyone’s opinions on the pros and cons of the names for the next four months! So, we decided that we stick with what we like and once she is born people will be too excited to see her to comment on her name!

Anyway, we think the name we have chosen is lovely.

So…. a little pink one…. wow!

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Half way there!

August 5, 2007

Well, today I am 20 weeks and 3 days pregnant… just over the half way mark!!

Here’s how baby is looking:

I haven’t posted for a while as our computer was packed away while we changed the spare room from a spare room into a nursery! The work is now complete, so we are back online at home (more of the nursery later).

Well, so much to update. Last time I posted was the 16 week midwife visit. The week after, I saw the consultant, who asked about medical history etc and said that we can have an additional growth scan at 32 weeks, but this is a formality only as there’s no reason why my history should have any effect on the pregnancy. We also had the results of our triple test – “very low risk” – which means less than 1 in 1,000 of spina bifida or Down’s Syndrome. She didn’t offer to listen to the heartbeat and we haven’t had an appointment since, so we still haven’t had that experience yet (although Tony has been trying to listen in through my tummy )

I still haven’t felt any definite kicks, although over the past few days I have been getting sensations that could well be the first indications of this. At first they started off as little pulses but occasionally now they do feel like the bubbles bursting that i’ve read about. Hopefully it won’t be long until they are full on kicks that T can feel from the outside.

We have our 20 week scan on Tuesday, when i will be 20+5. Really, really looking forward to that. It will be amazing to see bubs again and see how much he or she has grown. We’re hoping too that they’ll be able to tell us if our little baby is a boy or a girl… as long as it is feeling cooperative, of course! Neither of us have any particularly strong feelings that it will be one or another. At first when we found out, we both thought it was a girl. Now neither is sure… i think at the moment Tony is thinking more it might be a boy and I suppose I am too. But i don’t think either of us will be disappointed or surprised one way or another!

Work has (nearly) sorted itself out. We had to go through the interviews and, to cut a long story, I got my job but my good friend who I work with, didn’t. All in all a very odd situation and a very unpleasant one too. Techinically, I’ve been promoted but it doesn’t feel like anything to celebrate in these cicumstances.

I have brought a few maternity clothes, but can’t really wear them to work because they make it more obvious. Luckily, I still fit into a few of my old work clothes so they are keeping me going in the interim. Can’t wait until i’m ‘out of the closet’ at work so i can stop only having three outfits on rotation!!!

On the subject of maternity wear, I’m surprised really how little choice there is out there. I am in desperate need of something nice to wear to Louise and James’s wedding, which is on September 8. There is a real shortage of dressy enough dresses!!! There’s plenty for parties etc, although they are still expensive. I have my eye on one outfit though, which I think i will order and see how it looks when it arrives. I also need a party outfit for Louise’s hen night, and my cousin Adrian’s engagement party (the day after Louise’s wedding).

And, yes, the nursery. It is looking absolutely fabulous! We painted it in a coulour called Natural Hessian, and it is now definitely the nicest room in the house. Tony and his dad sweated for two days assembling Ikea wardrobes so we have plenty of storage too. We’ve now decided on the I Love My Bear range from Babies R Us, as it matches the decoration so perfectly. We have bought the lampshade from the set already and some wall stickers of teddies which we are yet to put on.

We also bought our pram! After a few weeks of test driving, we went for the Silver Cross 3d in Jet Sport (black).

It is really lovely (see pic) and is sitting behind me in the nursery as we speak! Pauline bought it for us from Mothercare – the only reason we got it so early was because it was in the sale and she got it for £239 instead of £279… although since then it’s actually gone up to £299!! Laura and Pauline went halves on the accessory back to go with it – the matching bag, sun shade and footmuff.

We didn’t get the car seat to go with it as we discovered that our Ford Focus didn’t have long enough seatbelts!! So instead, we went for a Britax Rockatot which we’re pleased with as it is smaller and lighter anyway. I don’t think we really planned to use the car seat clipped to the pram anyway, as it can only stay in there for up to two hours at a time.

I had a dream last night about the baby arriving and we were totally unprepared! I had to send my mum out while we were in hospital to buy everything… she did a sterling job but bought the wrong bedding etc etc!! I can only imagine this is the first of many dreams about being unprepared for baby!!!

Right well, I’ve gone on long enough. I will be back with our 20 week scan picture next week… can’t wait!

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14 weeks four days

Well, 14 weeks gone… that’s more than three and a half months pregnant! I suppose it feels like it has gone pretty quickly. Here’s how our darling bubs looks now…

I’m just about starting to feel pregnant too. I still don’t have any illness or anything like that but i can feel my stomach being bigger and a bit more awkward!

In a way my appetite seems smaller. Especially in the evenings, i get full quite quickly and then spend the evening feeling massively full! My nails have grown for the first time in years, i’ve stopped biting them and they’re actually quite strong. Usually if i manage to stop biting them for a bit they are always quite weak and ‘bendy’. I suppose i’m fairly tired too, although i’m not falling asleep on the sofa as i did in me anaemic days.

Talking of which, we had a letter through from the genetician that I went to see last July. At the time they went through my family history with me and my mum and thought that a genetic condition called HNPCC might be responsible for me getting bowel cancer so young. It seems that after almost a year of looking they haven’t found any abnormalities in the genes associated with HNPCC, and are now planning to look at the DNA on the tumour which they removed from me at the time. This could be brilliant news, as if i don’t have HNPCC it means i’m not going to pass it on to my babies. It also means my mum, sister and other relatives won’t have it either. The problem with HNPCC (well, there isn’t an awful lot good with it, if you know what I mean!) is that it makes you vulnerable to bowel and ovarian cancers. I was worried that if i had this condition, it meant that my window of opportunity to have babies was limited… i could contract that when i’m 30, and the answer would be a histerectomy. If i don’t have this, i’m only as likely to get it as the next person, which is good enough for me!

Anyway, back to being pregnant! We went to Babies R Us on Saturday and had a look at their cots and prams etc. I am absolutely in love with their Le Petit Chien range which is blue with little doggies on it! There is even a cot mobile that plays How Much Is That Doggie In The Window! It is so sweet!! But we’ll have to wait until the 20 week scan to find out if it is a boy or a girl!

Well, best go as i’m supposed to be leaving for work soon. Only six months to go!

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12 week scan – AMAZING!

Well, we had the scan yesterday and saw bubs for the very first time… absolutely amazing.

 

Although the photo is actually scanned in on it’s side, the baby is lying with it’s head down (standing on its head, as the sonographer said!). In this picture you can see the hand, being drawn up towards the face, but you can’t see the legs which were really long and he or she was kicking away quite happily.

Because it was on its head, it was tricky for the lady to measure the head (that is how they know how many weeks gone it is) and although she tried asking me to cough, it still wouldn’t budge (stubborn!!). Anyway she was still able to do it, and put it at 12 weeks 5 days, which means the new due date is December 20… bit close to Christmas!!

We were both overwhelmingly happy and just couldn’t get the smiles off our faces! We celebrated with a bottle of bubbly with the in-laws… only a small sip for me, obviously!

Wow, i’m just so happy. I was so nervous and excited before we went in, i was so worried that they’d say something was wrong. But, as the sonographer said, “seems like you were just lucky with your lack of symptoms”.

I’ve now got loads of appointments for various things, and the next scan is on August 7. Cannot wait!

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