The most amazing jellybaby…

Today we set eyes on our third baby for the very first time.

There he or she was, a 3cm long beginning of a person, looking like a Haribo gummibear and wriggling around with a teeny tiny heart blinking away determinedly.

I had guessed we might be around 7-8 weeks but in fact the sonographer dated us at 9wks 5days – making our due date 13th Feb! Allowing for two weeks lateness (as with the other two) that means definitely here before March… wow… it already feels so soon!

As with the other two, maybe more so, seeing that little life on the screen brought tears to my eyes instantly. I already know I love this baby with all my heart, and seeing him or her was just so amazing. Afterwards I felt like I wanted to sob big happy tears, but I had to try and compose myself as we were sitting back in the waiting room waiting for our pictures!

We haven’t told Lilly yet (Isla is way too little to understand!) and aren’t sure when will be the right time. Now that she has experienced what having a baby in the house means she might be a little less enthusiastic than she was last time!! Or, she might be thrilled… I had a hypothetical conversation the other day about it which went like this:

L: “Isla is getting to be a big girl, isn’t she mummy?”

Me: “Yes”

L: “Then she won’t be a baby anymore?”

Me: No, she’ll be a toddler. Do you think we should get another baby when she gets big?”

L: (as if that was the most ridiculous suggestion she’d ever heard) “Noooooo! Ha ha ha!”

Me: “Do you think it would be nice to have another baby brother or sister?”

L: “Erm…” (thinks about it then says, sounding slightly unconvinced) “I’d like a boy sister.”

So, a basis to work from there, then!

We set off on our holiday at the end of this week, and by the time we get back I’ll be 13 weeks and it’ll be time for the NHS scan – and then to tell work!! I’ll be heading back off on maternity leave just over a year since I returned from my last one… Ooops!

 

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First scan tomorrow…

… I’m so excited and nervous! Just can’t shake the feeling of anxiety, to hear the sonographer say “there’s the heartbeat” will just be the best thing ever… but what if something’s wrong?!?!

Alls fine and there’s nothing to suspect anything isn’t going as it should. But I just so need some evidence that everything’s ok, then I can relax and enjoy.

I’m also really looking forward to being “out” – last time around I had to wait so long to come out in work and thankfully situations are very different now so I don’t have to worry about that this time.

I do wonder if people in work have suspected. I am still completely off tea and coffee, so although I have accepted the odd cup in order to “keep up appearances” I’ve also turned lots down. And, in my opinion, I look pretty pregnant too… so all in all I bet some people have their suspicions!

Anyway I will be back tomorrow to give a report on how it goes… fingers crossed!

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The news is sinking in…

Well, it’s been four days since we found out I am pregnant again with number 2 and we’re still taking it all in!

As neither of us can hold in news like this for very long we have already told immediate family. Our theory being that, even if things went wrong, we’d still want those people to know so they would be there for us. Work, friends and the wider family can wait until the 12 week scan though! We invited Tony’s mum, dad and sister round to our house for a few drinks on the day we did the positive test. They all seemed quite surprised but really thrilled. They have really loved having a granddaughter / niece and have been so great in their new found roles over the past two years, so think they’re happy to be doing it all again!

I still have little in the way of symptoms to report – I have noticed an increase in hunger, and am a little more tired. The last few days i’ve felt a bit cloudy like a hangover (although I can assure you i haven’t been drinking!) although we have managed fairly late nights and disturbed sleep as Lilly has a bad cold (so do I) and keeps waking all night. I’ve also been quite thirsty – even though i’m drinking soft drinks all night i’m still waking up in the night parched. I’ve also been quite a cold bones lately – I know we are getting towards winter, but usually i’m always hot. And I’m probably needing to wee a little bit more often!

Yesterday T and I went to my cousin’s wedding in Scotland. Lilly stayed with her Nanna and Grandad, so we drove up early on Sat morning and came back today. We stayed out until gone midnight! It was 1am by the time we finally fell into bed, exhausted! That’s where we told my mum, and later that evening, my sister. Both were really happy about the news, (although my sis proceeded to get so drunk i’m not sure if she will actually remember it today!!).

One thing we didn’t prepare ourselves for was people asking us the “when are you going to have another one then?” question. Both times we were asked we stammered and made lame jokes… it must’ve been pretty obvious! But hey, never mind…

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24 week midwife appointment

I’ve just come back from my 24 week midwife appointment at the GPs. Saw a lovely midwife who I haven’t met before, and despite forgetting my notes and having to dash home for them (typical me), all was fine!

I told her about a dizzy spell I had a week ago – i came over all light headed and really dizzy and had to lay down for about two hours before it passed. She said it could be a dip in blood pressure but today mine was fine. The urine sample was all clear too, and she said my growth is spot on for 24 weeks. Best of all, she listened for the heartbeat… wow, that’s the first time i’ve heard it. Poor Tony missed it as he was at work, but he will get to hear it at the 4d scan in a couple of weeks. You could tell the baby was moving around as the sound kept getting louder and fainter as she moved nearer and further away. It was 148 beats per minute – which the midwife said is comfortably in the normal range of 110 – 160.

I also asked her about my scarring (from my operation two years ago – it runs right down my tummy and is very deep). She said that scar tissue is less flexible than normal skin, so although it is ok and the growth is right for the time being, it may be that it will become very tight because the scar tissue won’t expand like skin would. In that case, it could be that they induce me a bit earlier, if it is becoming a problem. But there is every chance it will be fine. So, i’m happy with that.

She also filled in my Mat B1 form – she put on it 20th December as my due date, even though she noticed in my notes it says 22nd December… not sure why that should be, as that wasn’t the date according to my LMP, or my dating scan. Anyway, I persuaded her I don’t want it any nearer to Christmas than it already is!!

Tomorrow I will be taking my Mat B1 form to work and telling them my news… nerve wracking. But once that is done, hopefully i will be able to sleep better at night without worrying about what the reaction will be like. Having said that, I find myself turning lots of things over in my mind at night – about how i’ll look after the baby, will i be able to breastfeed ok, how many clothes should i buy etc etc. I suppose it’s all part of becoming a mum… worrying must be part of the territory!

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23 weeks 4

I have been enjoying some lovely time off work over the last week, and am still off until Friday when it is DEFINITELY D-Day and I will be telling work my news!

Until then, I am trying not to have too many sleepless nights worrying about things!

Since I have been off work, my bump is definitely growing – which is as i expected, due to a combination of not needing to hide it anymore and the fact that a growth spurt is normal at this stage.

Tony and I had a mini spending spree last Friday, when we went to our favourite shops of the moment, Mothercare and Babies R Us. We bought some I Love My Bear themed stuff, which was on 3 for 2 – a fleece cot blanket, a cot bumper and two flanelette sheets. We also bought a bottle steriliser kit (Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature, as they are to work alongside breastfeeding for when i express) and, most exciting of all, a Fisher Price rainforest bouncer chair (see picture)! It is one that Tony has had his eye on since we first ventured into Babies R Us many months ago and we have been having fun playing with it!!!

I do think that bubs may find it a bit scary and overwhelming at first (!!) but you can remove the archway over the top and introduce it gradually. You can choose to have it “baby activated” so that when she kicks the toys that hang down the lights come on and it plays a tune (may have the potential to drive mummy and daddy insane though… we didn’t quite think about that!!)

We have also been thinking about realistic plans for after she is born. In my ideal world i would love to give up work altogether and become a full time mum, have another one in a year or so etc etc. But realistically, we just can’t afford our ultimate. So, we had a long discussion about it yesterday and have the bones of a plan. At the moment it involves me going back to work at 6 months (yikes) and doing 3 days (ideally, 3.5 days worth of hours condensed into 3 days actual work). Those days would then be covered by Tony’s mum one day (as she has offered this) and by Tony another day, presuming his work are ok with him doing 4 days per week. The other day would be nursery. Tony isn’t that mad on this idea but personally I don’t think it will be a problem, as long as we choose the place carefully (and, of course, all the good ones get booked up). I really, really would hate the idea of putting her in nursery for 3/4 days a week or more, but I actually think that one day a week will be beneficial really, as it teaches babies to be social and interact with others from a young age. I vividly remember when I went to nursery (ok, i wasn’t 6 months old) and I absolutely LOVED it. Tony is more apprehensive because he never went to nursery himself, but he admits that when it came time to go to school he found it very hard to adjust as a result. Anyway, there is an extra day that needs to be catered for, and that seems like the best (or only) way to do it. To be honest, it wouldn’t even be a full day as Tony would be able to collect her after lunch when he finishes work anyway. Hopefully, work will be accomodating to my 3 day per week request… fingers crossed!

I don’t think until now either of us realised how expensive and difficult all this was going to be… not that for one second we would change it! I think we were both using the denial technique thinking that things would sort themselves out somehow! But I was reading the other day about how a lot of nurseries are booked up until next September, which made me realise that we have to make some decisions fairly soon. There is a Sure Start nursery near us which has just opened, which has an open day on September 14… so I think we will pop along there to see what that is like – how bad the waiting list is and how much it will dent our pockets!!

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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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Nine weeks gone already!

Well, it’s nine weeks today (by my calculations, nine weeks three by the doc’s). Things are still going along fine, we went to a booking in appointment with a midwife called Lynn at the hospital yesterday. She took blood tests, blood pressure, checked urine and gave us a whole load of reading material. We also got our Bounty pack of baby related goodies!

She advised us on the nuchal scan, which apparently you can’t get on the NHS. You can have it done at Liverpool hospital for £110, and it has to be done before 13 weeks. They do offer you the blood test at 16 weeks, but apparently, the nuchal translucency scan is more accurate. T and I have been deliberating for a while about whether to give into curiosity and pay for a scan before the nhs one at 13 weeks. We had decided that perhaps it was a bit pricey when all we had to do was wait another couple of weeks, but now that we have been told about this nuchal scan, i think it has given us an excuse to go for it. I’m going to ring them today to book one in, so hopefully that’ll be fairly soon.

Had a bit of a wobbler last week stressing out about not really having any symptoms. I didn’t think i felt queasy enough, or tired enough. But my nerves have settled a bit, as i’m now aware that i’m yawning more, and that i do feel queasy a lot of the time, just not very severely. Having said that, yesterday morning for about half an hour i really thought i would be sick, although after a second breakfast it passed thank goodness!

Still haven’t told anyone at work, although i had a dream last night that i did. I went out for lunch on Saturday with some of the girls from work, including one who had her one and a half year old daughter with her. She was absolutely adorable and made me even more excited at the prospect of being a mummy!

Time does seem to be going fairly slowly at the moment though. I was excited about reaching seven weeks, it felt like loads. Now i’m at nine I feel like it’s taking ages and can’t wait to be 13 weeks so we can have the first proper scan and then tell everyone.

I’m trying to concentrate on thoughts of our holiday in the Algarve in just under three weeks… i cannot wait!!

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I’m pregnant!!!!

Wow… i am still in shock… did a pg test this morning when i first woke up and, almost instantly, a line appeared! I ran back into the bedroom, waking up T waving the test!

Suffice to say we are both absolutely over the moon and cannot believe how lucky we are!!

The test i did this morning was a cheapo Asda-own, so we got up after the first bfp and went to get a clearblue digi. It was very nerve wracking waiting for the little timer to go off and for it to show us the word… but finally it did and there it was, “Pregnant”. We were both shaking and couldn’t stop hugging each other for pure joy!

So, according to fertilityfriend.com, my estimated due date is 18th December… so we are having a Christmas baby! This time next year we’ll have a four month old!!!!!!

Wow, i’m so excited and thrilled… there is so much to think about. We have already been round and given the news to T’s mum and dad, who were shocked and thrilled. We’ve worked out that i’m somwhere between 4-5 weeks, as it only counts from the first day of our last period, not the day you think you ov’d, or conceived.

We’ve had a few early chats about maybe having a private scan dones at 8 weeks or so, as we’re both so impatient and don’t think we can wait until 12 weeks. It also looks like our holiday will coincide with the 12 week mark, so in any case, doesn’t look like we’ll be able to have our proper first scan until 13 weeks.

Haven’t told anybody else yet – will probably tell my mum soon though. My main worry is hiding it in work… as soon as i knock back coffee more than once, they’ll be right on to me. Can’t decide whether it’s best to confide in one or two, who are good friends, so they can help me with the coverup!

Well, i’m off to immerse myself in baby magazines… i feel this huge need to read as much information as I can!

As for symptoms, i don’t really have a great many… i suppose, with hindsight, i have been a bit more tired than usual the last few nights, falling asleep on the sofa… and i did have very sore nipples over the last week too. I’ve also had a few twinges, like when I stand up too quick, but apart from that nothing amazing. I’m sure that will all change in a few weeks!!!

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