31 weeks pregnant

This week , I had another scan. In the UK, you normally only get two; 12 week and 20 week; but because I am classed as ‘high risk’, they gave me an extra one called a ‘growth scan’. I arrived and the first thing the sonographer asked me was if I had any problems. I mentioned my terrible lower back pain (which is getting worse!). After a minute of scanning my bump, the sonographer smiled and said, ‘that explains the back pain then – your baby is in the occipito posterior position‘. This means that my baby’s head is down and its back is against my spine instead of facing the other way round. Apparently this causes extra stress to the mother’s back. So no wonder I have been feeling a lot more achey than I was when I was carrying my son! It’s not just because I am two years older after all! Ok, so the baby facing the wrong way and causing me temporary back pain is all very well, but how does this effect the birth if he hasn’t spun round by then? After some quick Googling, I have found that babies in the OP position mean a slower, longer and more painful labour! Oh God. So maybe a C-section may be on the cards after all. I have until 35 weeks to make a decision, let’s hope he spins around. I have been advised to get down on all fours and wash the skirting boards to help encourage him to turn round – fat chance of that happening the way my back feels at the moment!

We move house on Friday so lots of packing and sorting out to do over the next few days. Can’t wait to put all the baby clothes into his set of draws actually. At the moment they are all just sat in a vacuum pack bag on the floor, ready for the move. I bought a cute little coming home outfit for him a few days ago – a blue and white stripey all-in-one romper suit with matching hat. It’s so tiny! He will be here before I know it!

Pics above are obviously of the scan – pic 1 shows side profile of Baby C with his thumb in his mouth. Pic 2 shows Baby C with his head turned to face the camera. Not as clear as the 20 week scan pic but I guess this is because they can’t fit him all on the shot now he’s so big!

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30 weeks pregnant

Well, the lower back pain has certainly kicked in this week! I feel like a bit of an invalid actually – every time I try to do too much (and when I say ‘too much’, I mean, not a lot at all), I get awful back pain and have to sit down. At the weekend I had a small list of household jobs to do – clean the bathroom, vacuum the upstairs, load the washing into the machine and do some dusting. I finished the bathroom and collapsed on the sofa exhausted! It’s so frustrating, especially as we are moving house next week and so all I want to do is get stuck into the packing! I have been getting little bouts of feeling nauseous this week too. They do say that you start to feel bad in the last trimester again and they weren’t joking! I feel like an over-inflated beach ball!

Starting to get a little nervous about the impending birth now too. I think, now I have hit 30 weeks, it is feeling really close – realistically, the baby could come at anytime from 37 weeks so I may not have long at all. Memories of my son’s birth are starting to come back to me and I’m starting to remember just how painful those contractions were! I still have the option of a planned c-section of course and this option is looking more attractive every day! Got a ‘Birth Choices Clinic’ appointment to attend in a couple of weeks where I will sit down and discuss all my concerns with a midwife and get some advice – hopefully this will help me make up my mind.

Quite looking forward to the move next week now. Although I am still very nervous about the thought of moving into somebody else’s home, I am eager to get all of our stuff in and settle down before the new arrival. My husband is going over there to decorate our room this weekend so that it’s nice and fresh for us. My ‘nesting’ is still at large and so the thought of a good clear out and then placing all of our stuff into a nice clean, newly decorated room, is lovely. I am cleaning a lot at the moment – I just hope my mother-in-law doesn’t get offended when I start vacuuming under the sofas and scrubbing the kitchen cupboards! It’s nothing I wouldn’t be doing in my own home, I’m just a bit OCD at the moment!

Is chivalry dead?

I had the joy of catching the train into London on Monday. Being 30 weeks pregnant, the thought of pushing my way onto a busy train, finding a seat and then navigating my way through the London underground with a million impatient commuters was filling me with dread. I have got to the point in my pregnancy where my hefty bump is beginning to take its toll on my lower back – I can’t stand for more than fifteen minutes without feeling like I have walked the marathon or getting leg cramp. I spent the whole night before worrying about the thought of having to stand for an hour on the train if all the seats were already taken. My husband assured me that someone would spot the bump and let me sit, but I wasn’t so sure; I was dubious – are people as considerate in the city?

I was over the moon to find that the train I caught at 9.12am was pretty empty and so finding a seat was a breeze. However, once I was in London, the underground was a different story. The doors to my first tube train opened to reveal a tightly packed carriage of people. I quickly scanned the seats for an empty one, but to no avail. I headed toward the back of the carriage where the four ‘Priority Seats’ were positioned, each boasting a bright blue sticker which explained that these seats were for the ‘less able – disabled, pregnant or less able to stand’. I hovered by these seats, occasionally placing my hand on the lower part of my back to emphasise my bump and signal the fact that my back was pretty damn sore. Was anyone going to notice, or even care? On one side was a young couple in their late twenties. The girl was flicking through a magazine and didn’t even look up, the guy just glared with a vacant expression and continued to tap his foot to the music he was listening to on his headphones. On the opposite side was an older man, late forties, in a suit, and a woman with a large suitcase. The man briefly glanced up – this it is, I thought, surely any man of this generation would give his seat up for a pregnant woman? But no, he looked back down and continued to flick though his sodding newspaper. It was the woman with the suitcase who noticed me and immediately jumped up, offering me her seat and telling me that she has children and so knows what it’s like to be carrying around that extra weight all day. I thanked her whole heartily, shooting the newspaper man an icy stare as I sat. My next train was pretty much the same – Priority Seats mostly full of middle-aged men and it was the one young Asian girl who jumped up to let me sit. The men just watched as she gripped hold of the rail and joined the other standing passengers.

So is chivalry dead? Are the times when a man would willingly give up their seat for a woman gone? Or is it just the City which has killed all signs of the true gentleman with its rat-race culture? I honestly thought that if anyone was going to give up their seat on that first train, that it would have been the man with the newspaper. When the woman jumped up, dragging her huge suitcase with her, I presumed that he would follow, letting us both sit, like a true gentleman should. Or am I being too old fashioned? Sexist even? Maybe all of the ‘equal rights’ which us women have pushed onto society have taken their toll and men now expect us to lie in the bed we have made for ourselves. We can open our own doors, stand on a train and walk our own backsides home in the rain. It is a shame and I truly hope that the age of the gentleman is not dying – I at least will be bringing my own son up to be one and I hope other mothers do as well. Long live ‘ladies first’!

29 weeks pregnant

Spring is officially here! Goodbye retched Winter, hello happy, sunny Spring! I already feel a lot brighter as I wake to the sound of wood pigeons cooing (one of my favourite sounds) and bright sunlight pouring in through the binds. It’s amazing what a little sunlight can do for your spirits isn’t it.

This week the baby has been a right wriggler! I am not sure if he’s moved position or has fallen a little lower, but he seems to be constantly pushing on my my bladder which is sending me into regular desperation for the toilet! I really don’t remember my son being this active last time – I mean, to the point where I am being woken up every morning at 4.30am because of the jabs to my ribs! Reckon I’m going to have another big, strong baby!

I had to have a day off of work this week actually; I must have rolled over too violently in the middle of the night because I woke myself up doing it with the most awful ripping pain along my hip and bump. I can only describe it as a hot tearing sensation! The next morning it was so painful – the baby was still as active as ever, so I knew I hadn’t done him any damage. I think I must have pulled a ligament. I spent that day with my feet up, watching terrible TV and adding rows to my crochet baby blanket and all seems to be ok now. Not the most pleasant experience and still a bit sore!

I had a call from the doctor yesterday and apparently according to my latest blood and water tests, not only I am quite badly anaemic again, I have a water infection too – just marvellous. So back on the old antibiotics and iron tablets I go. Jeeze, I am going to be rattling as I walk soon! The joys of pregnancy. I am finding it so hard to just be healthy – if I’m not anaemic, I have some kind of infection, if I don’t have that, I’m full of cold, if it’s not that, it’s something else! Is it actually possible to be pregnant and totally A-OK in the health department?!

My bump is certainly getting bigger now. I look at it and think, ‘you still have eleven weeks to go, how much bigger can you possibly get?!‘ then out comes the Bio Oil or Body Butter (I’m paranoid about stretch marks!!)

28 weeks pregnant

Wow, this week has been an emotional roller-coaster for me! I feel like a bag of hormones which is busting at the seams, ready to explode! There are a lot of changes going on in my life at the moment – the baby’s arrival is approaching obviously, but also, next month we are moving from our little rented house, into my mother-in-law’s house with her, so that we can save a deposit for a house of our own. I am feeling very anxious about this indeed. It’s nothing to do with the fact that it’s my mother-in-law as I happen to get on with her very well, it’s just the fact that I am moving my family into somebody else’s house. It’s going to be strange adjusting to this. Simple things which everyone takes for granted such as, walking across the landing with no clothes on or having your pick of the TV channels, will be gone. It is only for a year and the outcome will be worth it, but this change mixed with my overactive hormones is making me feel so stressed. I have developed sore, flakey eczema on my elbows and my IBS was playing up a bit yesterday – all signs that I need to chill! But that’s easier said than done.

I can tell that my hormones are raging at the moment because quite uncharacteristically at the weekend, I completely snapped at a neighbour! I was on our driveway, vacuuming the car (yes, I am still obsessively cleaning!). I had all the doors open and was just giving the dash a final wipe over after spending 45 minutes vacuuming and dusting, when along came a dog. Now, I am not what you would call a ‘dog person’, in fact, I hate the smelly creatures. This dog was pretty mean looking (a ‘Staffordshire Bull Terrier’ I think?) and decided that he would jump up on me. I got pushed back into the car and covered with mud and slobber (Yuck, this is what I hate most about dogs) I managed to push the dog away and suddenly its owner appeared at the end of our driveway (a strange reclusive lady who lives opposite and spends most of her time in her dressing gown). I expected her to come running over and grab the dog which had just invaded my space, but instead she just stood at the end of the drive and feebly called it back. Well, it then decided to jump into my car! Mud went everywhere! There were muddy paw prints all over my freshly-cleaned car seats! I managed to grab it by the neck and pull it out, still expecting the owner to rush over and apologise, but she didn’t. Still, she stood at the end of the driveway and quietly attempted to call it back. The filthy beast then jumped up at me again and hopped straight back into my car. This is when I flipped! I think I screamed something along the lines of,

For f**** sake! I’ve just cleaned this f****** car! Get your f****** dog away from me! If you can’t control it then put it on a lead!!

With that, I dragged the dog out, got in the car and slammed the doors shut, sealing myself in to calm down. If you know me, then you know that I’m not usually one for confrontation (in fact, I tend to let people walk all over me sometimes which I wish I could change), so this was definitely a case of hormone overload! I was quite impressed with myself actually – I do have the potential to be assertive afterall.

Apart from the hormones and stress, everything else is going well. Baby is kicking so much which is can be quite painful occasionally, but nice and reassuring at the same time. My appetite is HUGE – I got through a whole box of Lindor chocolates the other night and didn’t even feel sick! Only 12 weeks to go now… let’s hope I’m not as big as a bus by then!

27 weeks pregnant

I am now officially in my third trimester! Hooray! The last stage of pregnancy has finally arrived and the finish line is in sight. Apparently I will start to feel a bit rubbish again soon as my due date looms. I am already starting to get quite tired in the evenings again and can barely keep my eyes open past 9pm. As the baby gets bigger, my body will have to work harder for us both and hence the tiredness I guess. Oh well, not too much longer left now!

A question: is it normal for the ‘nesting’ effect to take hold this early? I can’t stop cleaning just lately. I bought this all-purpose Flash spray which has hint of Fabreeze in it and it smells ssoooo good! I think I clean my kitchen worktops about three times a day just because I love the fresh clean smell I get when I walk back in! I hope this is just pregnancy ‘nesting’ and I am not developing OCD! I can’t stop sweeping, dusting and vacuuming either. There’s just something about an immaculate house at the moment. I don’t remember this happening until I was around 35 weeks last time.

I am also eating for England this week! I don’t appear to have that full feeling at the moment and so constantly feel like I’m hungry. I used to take a sandwich and an apple to work and that would do me for the day, today however, I have a sandwich, an orange, a nectarine, a fruit & grain bar and a Milky Way chocolate dessert and that will all be gone (leaving me hungry) by 3pm!

I went to a local baby sale in a secondary school at the weekend and managed to pick up a MaxiCozi Easy Base for our car seat for £20! So lucky as was going to buy it on Amazon for £95! I love a bargain!! Have now ordered our car seat (the MaxiCozi CabrioFix infant carrier) which fits nicely onto our new buggy and so we nearly have everything we need now. Can’t wait for little Baby C to arrive!

26 weeks pregnant

This week I have been feeling a little more energized. The antibiotics have obviously done their job as my cough has gone and I feel altogether so much better! Thank God for modern medicine!

The baby has been booting me left, right and centre this week, paying particular attention to the time when I want to go to sleep! I am sure that this will be something which will carry on through to the early months of life as well no doubt. Oh well, at least I am well prepared for the sleepless nights which will soon follow. I was only saying to a friend the other day actually, I think that I am looking forward to the birth of this baby more so than I was with my first. With my first, everything was the unknown – I had no idea what to do when it arrived other than what I had been told or read! Babies don’t come with instruction manuals and so although I was excited, I had a lot of anxieties about everything. This time, I know what to do, how much (or little) sleep I’m going to get and my life has already adjusted to being a mum. The shock I felt when my whole life suddenly changed, has already happened. I am excited but in a whole relaxed kind of way this time!

I have been working on a little project for the new baby this week. I know a lot of you are going to think that I am really sad because this is not a hobby which many women partake in until they are at least sixty, but I have been having a go at crochet. A baby blanket to be more precise. My friend and I saw a class being advertised at a toddler group we attended and so decided to give it a whirl! I haven’t got that far yet but you can see from the picture that I’m getting there. It’s quite satisfying creating something so esthetically pleasing from four boring balls of wool and a hook!

After last weeks post, my husband and I have had a long discussion on my birth choice. I hadn’t realised just how concerned he was actually feeling about it all. I think I sometimes focus too much on how everything is affecting me and forget that my husband is part of this journey, with his own worries and anxieties, as well. We have decided to attend my next appointment with the consultant together, so that we can raise our concerns and then think about the options a little more before making a final choice.