Pregnancy Diary: Week 26 & 27

19/08/13

26 & 27 Weeks Pregnant.

I am writing this as I am coming towards the end of my 27th week. I'm still feeling fabulous! My feet are still swelling but after borrowing a foot spa I have had a lot of relief. My heartburn hasn't been as bad the past week either. I've sort of gotten used to it and have found that having regular glasses of milk and eating a bit more dairy has helped tenfold. I tend to try and ease it naturally before hitting the bottle! Gaviscon bottle that is! 

I feel like my bump has gotten bigger and has filled out a lot in these past two weeks. Although a lot of people comment that my bump is small which I'm unsure about. I feel big. I have begun getting stretch marks really low down on the bump. I have to say I have been a little lazy applying the stretch marks lotions and potions. I have plenty to use but know that genetics play the biggest role when it comes to them. Here are some pictures I have taken in the past two weeks.

Mummy and Daddy.

Egg on legs.

       Me being totally serious! 

This afternoon I had another midwife appointment. I love going to the appointments to check on our boy, it's always so exciting. I had the lovely midwife that I had at my booking in appointment and it was lovely to see her again. We had a quick catch up and then got started. They begin measuring your bump at 24 weeks to try to plot your babies growth and estimate the birth weight as your pregnancy progresses. So today my bump was measured for the second time and again I was measuring big. The first time I was on the high end of the guideline but this time I was above it! She said not to worry as it is not fully accurate and it's not too big to cause any concern. It's also better to be measured bigger than small. We also had a listen in on his heartbeat and it sounded strong and healthy. The midwife also told me that he was in the head down position already! He is head down, on his side on my left. Which explains why I get most kicks on my right side and why I have had a lot of prodding in my ribs. The position he is in is the ideal position for birth so hopefully he will stay like that! I had to rush over to the appointment after work so didn't have time for any lunch. Bad move! I had my bloods taken but because I hadn't eaten and as it was so stuffy in the room so I went a little woozy. Which was very humiliating! My next appointment is in 3 weeks time when I will be 30 weeks.

I have started thinking more about birth lately. I think I want a water birth. I can see why people choose to have them. I like that you have more space, not confined to a bed and that it feels a lot less clinical. The water must be somewhat soothing too and I like how a water birth would be less stressful for our son when he is born. I still need to do a lot more research and speak to my midwife about it but it looks like a water birth will be on the cards for me. I am absolutely terrified but at the same time excited. 

This week I started to sort through all his clothes a begun arranging his bits and bats. I still have a lot more washing and sorting to do but it was nice to get started on it. I will probably leave the rest for when I go on Maternity leave which will be in less than 6 weeks time! 44 days and counting! 

My cat Teddy was showing my bump lots of love this week. He normally has a thing for bare skin and he won't sit on your knee or come for a cuddle if you aren't covered up! I think most cats are like that, they don't like the feel of bare skin. Ted came and sat on my knee and I lifted my top up for him to have a see and he started to nuzzle my stomach and fell asleep. I just had to share some pictures as it melted my heart! One of the things that I worry about it how the cats will adapt to having a new baby in the house. I don't want them to feel replaced and know that they are still loved! If anyone has any tips on how to make the transition as easy as possible then please let me know. 

I cannot believe I am moving into the third trimester already. It has gone so fast, it's unbelievable. I can't believe that in three months time my baby will be in my arms! Where has the time gone? 

Pregnancy Diary: Week 24 & 25

13/08/13

24 & 25 Weeks Pregnant.

I'm a little late with this post! I am writing this at 26 weeks pregnant but this post is all about week 24 and 25. I feel great, my energy levels are fine and I feel very chipper most days. Only thing that has gotten worse is my heart burn but it's nothing a glass of milk or a swig of gaviscon can't cure! As my bump gets bigger I am finding it harder to get comfortable at night time. I have a dream genii pregnancy pillow which is so comfortable but it seems to stop me from being able to sleep? Every time I have tried to use it I have been as snug as a bug but I just can't sleep? I think I am starting to get some pregnancy insomnia too. Some nights I will be shattered but I just can't seem to switch off and shut down. All worth it though!

Me at 24 weeks. Can you tell I am bump obsessed?!

Baby boy is kicking all the time now. He is so strong! I love those kicks and will really miss them once he is here. I am loving being pregnant and never would of thought it would agree with me so much. I know every pregnancy is different and the next pregnancy I have could be terrible but for someone who used to freak out at the thought of being pregnant I am absolutely astounded at how much I love it! I just hope I don't get addicted to being pregnant, ha ha. 

We think we have decided on a name. From day one we had a long long list of names that we liked or would consider using. Once we went through that list there was literally only three names that we both liked enough and agreed on but only one name we both adored. That name being Noah. I must admit we are already referring to him with his name so hopefully when he is here he looks like a Noah! 

Nick and I had a week off work during these two weeks. We decided to get cracking on the nursery with our free time. The room we were using was literally used for a dumping ground and every square inch was just full of boxes of things we don't use. It took us a day and many tips to the skip just to clear that! 

It took me weeks to decide what colour scheme I wanted his room to be. I was stuck between green or yellow. At first I was all about green but once I saw the yellow I knew it had to be that colour! I thought it would be a nice warm colour for him without being too distracting and it would match the pine coloured furniture that we had already bought.
We must of looked through twenty or thirty shades of yellow until we found the shade we wanted. Who knew there was so many shades of yellow?! Yellow is just yellow right? Wrong!

After we finally selected the colour we went straight to the painting! I had a little go but didn't want to be in the room so long with the fumes so I left it up to Nick. He did a fantastic job to say he had never painted a room before! Thankfully it only needed one coat and then a couple of touch ups. We then ripped up the carpets and went straight to fitting the brown carpet we bought. Everything went to well and we had the whole nursery decorated in two days. 

The following day we had the joys of tackling the flat pack furniture. Again my lovely Nick took the reins and had set up all the bedroom furniture in no time. We only have limited space in the room so we had a play around with where we wanted the furniture to go before we were satisfied. 

 

What do you think? Do you like our nursery?

I'm absolutely in love with it. There isn't a thing I would change and I'm so happy with the colour scheme we went for. Now the nursery is done it is one less thing to worry about and it really does make everything seem so much more real! I must admit I do go in there at least twice a day just to have a look around. Makes me so excited! I know he won't use that room for a long while as he will be sleeping beside me in a moses basket for the first few months. Then after that I may even bring the cot into out room!

Cannot believe how fast the pregnancy is going! He will be in my arms in no time!

Pregnancy Diary: Week 22 & 23

26/7/13

22 & 23 Weeks Pregnant.

I have just come to the end of week 23 and decided to do another double post from my experiences of week 22 & 23. I literally have had no bad symptoms whatsoever! My energy levels are back to normal, I feel fantastic, no nausea, dizzy spells, no nothing. I am loving it! Really appreciating this easy going time as I know I have had it pretty good and I know that the third trimester can be tough.

The only thing that has really changed is I am starting to struggle getting up when sat or led down. The bump is starting to get in the way a bit more. I have noticed that I have begun sitting, crouching and even standing differently. Again I find it hard to notice if the bump has got any bigger as I think it's harder to tell when you see it every day but in the past few days I have felt a growth spurt. My belly has started getting tighter and it's begun to itch. Especially around my belly button area. I have also gotten my first stretch mark on my stomach. It's only tiny and I know it will be the first of many! I have been applying creams and oil but not religiously as I know that genetics play a bigger role in stretch marks. If you are going to get them, you will get them! This bump photo was taken at 22 weeks. I am having to wear Maternity clothes now too. This dress was bought from the Topshop Maternity range and it's so comfy! 

Baby boy is now 11 inches long and weights a whopping 1.1lb! His little "poke" kicks have become much stronger and you can now see his movements through my clothes. At first I could just feel him around my stomach area but as he is getting bigger I can now feel him at my ribs and as far around as my side. He is still the most active at night time. His kicks woke me up for the very first time last night! It was 3am and it felt like he was running a marathon inside me! He tends to sleep most the day and I hope that isn't the case when he is here! Awake all night and sleeping all day! I could literally just lie there all day just watching his movements. It's amazing. I love him so much! 

We decided we wanted to buy our nursery furniture this week too. I literally went on so many websites to find a good quality set that was not too expensive and I found the whole process so frustrating. There aren't many stores now that you can walk into and view the furniture before you buy and that was my problem. We decided to drive over to our local Babies R Us as they had some great deals on and I knew they had the furniture on show. We literally walked in and both wandered over to one cot in particular and we just knew it was the one for us. We briefly looked at the others but we had already made our mind up. There was an incredible deal on the set and we got the cot bed, shelving with changing unit and wardrobe for just £250! We couldn't believe the deal. My partners parent's promised to buy us the cot so we rang them to let them know that we had chosen and that the cot bed on it's own was £100 but they kindly offered to pay for the whole set! It was incredibly generous of them and I am so thankful! I think I got all teary! 

The picture does the set no justice whatsoever. The wood is a richer colour and it's a lot more sturdier. I think they need to hire a new photographer!

Everything seems to be coming together and the next step will be choosing the colour scheme for our nursery and decorating! That will be next week! 

Can't believe how everything is happening so fast. In 17 weeks I could be giving birth. In 9 weeks I will have finished work for a year. In 3 months our son will be here!
Well they do say time flies when you are having fun!

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Pregnancy Diary: Week 20 & 21

12/7/13

20 & 21 Weeks Pregnant. 

I'm writing this a little later than expected! I decided to do another double post again as 20 & 21 weeks were very similar. I need to keep on top of these posts. At the minute it has been hectic at work, home and had lots of commitments so the blog had been put on the back burner. But I am here to make up for the lost time! 

I've felt absolutely fantastic the past week or so. My energy levels are slowly going back to normal, I feel great on a whole, I've been in a great mood. I can't really complain! Well there is always something to complain about, my feet! As it has been so hot my feet and ankles have really suffered. The heat, standing up for long hours at work and pregnancy don't mix well. But at the end of the day they are only swollen feet and after a lounge around they go back to normal. What's a pair of swollen feet when you are carrying a little bundle of joy inside you, eh? 

Anyway onto the fun part! We had our long anticipated 20 week scan on the 28th of June! I literally could not wait to see our little fella again. I didn't feel nervous until we were in the waiting room at the hospital. So at the 20 week scan it is basically to make sure everything is okay with the baby. Firstly the midwife did all the checks that she needed reporting them back to the other nurse who added all the data into the computer. She measured everything from his thigh bones, to counting his little toes to even checking if he was still a boy. Which he is! Thankfully! Everything looked fine with the baby and all the while I was just in awe staring at the screen. I couldn't believe how much he had grown since the 16 week scan and I was just amazed by him. I can't believe how much I love him already. Later on Nick told me that he was worried that the sonographer was going to say something wasn't normal but honestly I was that mesmerised by our son I didn't even think that way. It was a great relief to know that everything they could check was fine and on track. True to nature he was being naughty again. She really struggled to get a good scan photo of him and kept having to shake him around to make him budge. He really is camera shy when it comes to these ladies! 

Here is our scan photo:

I think he looks like his Dad already, just from his little profile! A Nick Jnr! 

On each of our scans too he has been sleeping or lying with his hand beneath his head. That is how I sleep at night. I wonder if that is a habit he will have when he is here?

Another milestone on the 20th week as I began feeling proper kicks for the first time too! Not little butterflies but what I call pokes. The first time it happened it had me thinking was that a kick? But every day they gradually got stronger and stronger. On the 21st week they became even stronger. He also has a schedule for his active time. I call it his afternoon aerobics class and nightly yoga session. He is always most active after I have had a big meal or when I am resting. I am adoring the kicks. Enjoying them while they are nice and gentle and not uncomfortable.

I don't feel like my bump is getting much bigger but maybe cause I obsess with watching it grow everyday that I don't seem to be noticing as much. What do you think? I think it still looks rather big. The photo was taken at 21 weeks.

I'm extremely happy at the minute and really at ease. So overwhelmed with love for our little boy and so excited for our future. More than half way there now!  

Pregnancy Diary: Week 6

28/3/13

6 weeks pregnant. 

I'm writing this as I am leaving the six week milestone and moving into my seventh!

This week hasn't been too bad symptom wise. I haven't had any morning sickness as of yet, which is fine with me! On the other hand I have experienced extreme fatigue especially on my days off. It was that bad that I just had to lounge on the sofa like a couch potato as doing the menial of tasks was exhausting. I didn't feel just physically drained but mentally too. For some reason I would feel more energised when at work rather than when I was relaxing at home. one night I even managed to sleep for 12 hours.

At the start of the week I had no appetite and the thought of most foods made me feel sick. One night all I could stomach for tea was roast potatoes and gravy. Coming towards the end of the week I couldn't get enough food but certain foods I still can't touch. Mainly meats! Still can't get enough fruit or fresh fruit juice.

I had my first scare this week too. There are a lot of physical changes in pregnancy, even I'm these early stages. Without getting into too much gory details I noticed a peculiar change when going to the ladies room and my heart sank. It was very frightening. It wasn't blood or anything like that but it wasn't the usual. After the panic set it I did a lot of research and other ladies had experienced the same thing and it had been fine. A little unusual but nothing to worry about. I am keeping an eye on things and it hasn't happened again. When I go to my first midwife appointment I will be sure to mention it.

We had an early splurge this week. On researching what travel system I would prefer I fell in love with the iCandy apple. It is very pricey and top of the range but I knew I had to have it. My Dad kindly offered to pay for the pram as he said it was tradition but I didn't want him to pay an extortionate amount. That's where eBay came in! I found a preloved iCandy apple travel system on there for a starting bid of just £150 which I won for just £190. Which is incredible to think that new it would cost over £800. I know it is early days to be buying a pram but when I saw the bargain I knew I had to have it.

Anyway that about wraps it up for week six! I'm still wishing I could fast forward time and we are both still extremely excited!

We love our November Sparkler already.

Pregnancy Diary: Week 5

21/3/13

5 Weeks Pregnant 

I'm writing this draft at 5 weeks pregnant. As you may of read from my previous pregnancy post we have already told our close family and friends we are expecting but we have refrained from telling anyone else as it is still early days. I am such a blabber mouth I have wanted to tell so many people but I know it is best to wait! 

At the very start of my pregnancy I had a lot of cramps at night with all the changes that were going on in my uterus but now thankfully for now they have worn off. I know they are a continuous symptom throughout pregnancy and totally normal. I know it sounds strange but I kind of miss the pain and twinges cause it reminded me that there is the start of a little baby bun in there! 

I have had a few symptoms so far. I have been extremely tired and I've never been so tired in my life! It probably doesn't help going to bed past midnight when I am up for work at 7am. (I will look back at this sentiment when baby arrives and laugh at myself cause I am sure I will be a million times more exhausted!)

For the past couple of days I've been very grumpy! Lots of ups and downs. 

I went through a couple of days where I was anxious and worried. Which is normal. I think? 

I am always hungry and thirsty, I'm like a bottomless pit. I drank a lot of fluid even before pregnancy so now it's heightened even more.  Food wise it takes a lot more to satisfy. I think I am going to be one of those expectant Mothers who put on about 5 stone! Dreading that! 

I have had lots of cravings already. The leading one is for fruit juice! I can't get enough of it. Tropical, orange, apple! I could easily drink a litre a day. I also went through a couple of days of having lots of herbal tea, decaff coffee and lots of bottled water too. Liquid diet much? Not really.. let's move onto the food! My love of crisps seems to of tripled since becoming pregnant which I didn't think was humanly possible. I am enjoying a lot of cheese! I'm also eating lots of fruit, especially Kiwi's and Oranges. I am totally off meat and chocolate. Yes, chocolate!

I've been buying little bits and pieces as it just makes me even more excited. I now have a big hamper full of unisex baby grows, sleep suits, snow suits, hats, socks, mittens, bibs, blankets, and cardigans! I love to look through it all and organise it over and over again. I thought I would upload a picture of the first toy we have bought for the baby. Isn't it cute!? 

We are both very excited to be parents and are wishing away the time. I can't wait to get a bump and to tell the world that we are going to be having a baby! Even more so I can't wait to see our baby on the sonograph for the first time and I am dreaming of the day our baby is in our arms!  

I can't wait to meet our November Sparkler. 

Pregnancy Diary: Week 4

10/3/13

4 Weeks Pregnant

    I am writing this at 4 weeks pregnant. Very early days yet. We have only told family and a close friend of mine on twitter. All of which are very very happy for us. We don't want to tell the world until we are finally out of the 12 week zone. 

    I obviously don't intend to post this until we have announced to everyone we are expecting but I wanted to blog about everything while everything was still fresh in my mind. So here goes... 

    Nick and I have been together and going strong for five years and for the last year we had been contemplating when we would start a family and how amazing it would be. In the new year I just felt like 2013 was our year to start trying. I signed up with a very helpful website called Baby to Bump which was incredible. That website turned out to be invaluable cause not only did I learn so much from it but I also gained a lot of support from some lovely people over there. 

    So we did the baby dance a few times in my fertility window and straight away I felt different. A few days into it I felt cramps and my body felt different. I began getting tired and I was a bit more testy that usual! I was googling early pregnancy symptoms and convinced myself that I was pregnant. I also thought that I shouldn't raise my hopes as the body can play tricks on you. 

    I had bought some pregnancy test strips off the internet and I was testing every other day and was getting no results. It was too soon to test but I tested none the less. Not even a little faint line. Still I was convinced I was pregnant. I wasn't just feeling changes in my body I was seeing them too. Then one night (I will remember this forever) I was sat on the sofa and my cat was on my knee. I tried to nudge her off as I was feeling a little crowded and her claw got stuck in my pj's and ripped them ever so slightly and I burst into tears. Sobbing! I knew I was pregnant then. I had to be. 

    The next day it was our 5 year anniversary and I woke up and I did a test and I saw a very faint red line appear! I burst into tears I was so happy! I had to refrain from texting or calling my partner all day as he was at work. It seriously felt like the longest day of life. When he got home from work I couldn't keep the smile off my face but was trying my best to act normal. I had led the two pregnancy tests on the bed against the white sheet so you could see the lines more clearly and told him to come and have a look in the bedroom. I pointed them out and said "Happy Anniversary!" He had the biggest smile on his face and we were in our element. On our first month of trying to conceive I fell pregnant! I didn't think it would happen so soon for us. 

    The thought of being pregnant and being a Mummy is not only amazing but also absolutely terrifying. I just hope that everything goes well and our bean will be fit and healthy. The due date is 15th November. 

Our November Sparkler!