Wednesday, April 30, 2008

7 weeks to go!

Hope everyone is liking the new, neater blog.  I really enjoy writing it.

I now have 49 days approximately until this little one comes to meet us!  (Let's hope he cooperates and comes on time!).  I am still going through phases of feeling like I wish the 7 weeks would go faster and then feeling like it will be here in no time at all!


There is not much change in his development.  He is definitely getting bigger and now weighs approximately 4.2lbs and is nearly 18 inches long!  He is head down now and has a very healthy heartbeat!  His little bones are hardening and his skin is looking less red and wrinkly and more like it will look at birth.  I am expecting him to move into my pelvis anytime now and this will hopefully alleviate some of the pressure on my ribs because he will be lower and have a little bit more room.  Apparently I should have put on almost 1 1/2 to 2 stone during the pregnancy but I haven't had the nerve to weigh myself recently!

The baby can now do evertything he will be able to do at birth (with the exception of crying!).  He sleeps most of the time but when he is awake he can listen, feel and learn.  He notices the difference between light and dark but won't have a proper sleeping pattern until he is born

I have reached a milestone now that if the baby were to come this early he would most likely be ok.  His lungs should be strong enough and although his organs might not be quite mature enough... there is so much that hospitals can do.  It's a relieving thought to know that if anything were to happen now he would be ok.

I am thinking more now about labour and am still not scared exactly... I have been thinking about how I will cope with the pain and am going to try to refrain from having an epidural even though it has always seemed to be the easiest option to me.  At our antenatal class all it too was the midwife to say that I wouldnt have any feeling in my legs and would have to stay in bed for the duration.  I knew I wouldn't have feeling but it took someone to actually say it to put me completly off the idea.  I think in my panic of going into labour... losing feeling of the lower half of my body might make me panic a bit more.  I also like the fact that if I refrain fro having it I can walk around freely for as long as I want and can take as many baths and showers in the labour ward as I think will help.  Walking helps labour because of gravity hehe.

Monday, April 28, 2008

My Weekend

I hadn't seen my mum in a few weeks (she lives in Belfast which is a 3 hour drive away and I live in Dublin) as it's getting quite hard for me sitting on the bus. I get an awfully sore back, not to mention that travel sickness is ten times worse when pregnant. Anyways... my mum drive down to spend the weekend with me and I have to say I miss her so much again now that she is away home.

We had a lovely weekend though. James had to go into work again after the awfulness of the other night (on Friday he didn't end up coming home until 2am!) so when my mum arrived on Saturday at lunchtime we went into Dundrum (there is a great big shopping centre/ mall in Dundrum) for some retail therapy. I picked up a lovely pair of jeans for hubby and a couple of t shirts. I treated myself to a couple of t shirts also and 2 pairs of shoes! I figured, both pairs were on sale so justified buying them both in that one pair of full priced shoes would have cost the same total.

We met James as soon as he finished work and went to Real Gourmet Burger (a new restaurant which sells what the title says!) for dinner. It was divine which would explain why the place was SO busy! I went for a minted lamb burger topped with grilled goats cheese, avocado and red onion marmalade. I never usually manage a full burger but I devoured this one in minutes. Will definitely be going back.

On Sunday we drove to Howth which is on the sea. On a Sunday they always have a farmers market which can get busy at times but never like it was yesterday! We haven't had much sun recently so I think everyone was making the most of it. As soon as we got out of the car we saw a group of people gathered at the edge of the harbour... they were feeding fish to sealions! I had never seen wild sealions before and they are just so cute! Anyway... the stalls at the market include seafood, organic fruit and vegetables, organic farmhouse cheeses, home baked bread and cakes, olives, oils, chutneys and homemade fudge.

We brought home with us: Paddy Jack cheese (quite strong but tasty), 3 MASSIVE blueberry and white chocolate scones, a punnet of sweet william pears, a bag of champagne grapes (huge... they are like plums!), speciality pasta (trofie), chilli olives and olives with sundried tomatoes. All in all a tasty adventure. It is so easy though to lose track of what your spending as you walk around!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I feel all squashed inside...

...so i wonder what little bubs feels like! Poor guy!


Pregnancy is getting quite hard now and I am glad that there are only 8 weeks left (although I will miss being pregnant when it is over). I don't know if I could wait much longer than 8 weeks. Everything I do these days takes a lot of effort, from getting out of bed to standing for longer than 15 minutes. I also can't wait to have my body back. As much as I love feeling bubs kick me black and blue inside, I could do without the judo chops on my lower right hand side ribcage. These kicks feel an odd sensation like when you hit your funny bone. I like the little wriggles and squirms he does though. I think the baby knows the difference between naughty kicks and nice kicks hehehe. When I have a series of quite sore, big kicks, James promptly puts his hand on my belly and for those few minutes the kicks cease. It looks like James is already recognised as the authority figure and I'm recognised as the softy.

So I am 32 weeks pregnant with approximately 55 days left until our little one makes an appearance. Bubs now weighs about 4lbs and is about 18 and a half inches long! He is sleeping 90% of the day and he even has dreams now. The baby seems to get hiccups quite a lot because he is practicing swallowing. I feel them as very strange, soft movements with a very definite pattern... reminds me of a dripping tap or something similar. I'm not sure what they feel like for him but I always feel bad as i find hiccups quite sore. I just hope the baby doesn't feel them the same way.



We attended another antenatal class on Monday which covered the first stage of labour. We learnt about contractions and about the chart that is used and what everything on the chart means. We learnt about other signs of labour starting and when we should go into hospital. James and i live about a 15 or 20 minute walk from our hospital so it means I can spend a little more time in the comfort of my own home before leaving for the hospital. The midwife also explained all the different methods of pain relief.

Being off work is starting to drag a little and it is hard thinking of things to do to make use of my time but I should appreciate the alone time because in 2 months time I will not have it anymore.

Monday, April 14, 2008

31 weeks down. 9 weeks to go!

Woohoo! Single figures! I have to admit I go through phases of thinking my due date is a long way away and then thinking its really not long at all and today is one of the days where it seems sooner. I have a lot to do but I have been taking it easy the last few weeks just keeping the house in order and having dinner ready for James coming home.... (perfect housewife!).

There are 9 weeks to gonow, the baby weighs approximately 3.3 pounds. The movements I feel are starting to change from kicks to squirms because the baby does not have a lot of room left. The baby is expected to put on 2 - 4 more pounds before birth so I'm sure I still have a lot of growing to do.

We had our first antenatal class on Monday which went well. It was an introduction to the 5 classes we will have over the coming weeks. We were first told about the hospital and bombarded with some statistics which made me feel so relaxed with my choice of Holles Street. One of the things she mentioned was that 90% of their patients deliver within 12 hours of labour while the Rotunda's (hospital up the road) average is 36 hours. The other thing that she mentioned was that we each have our own personal midwife who will be there for the duration of the birth... no shift changes and swapping of midwives. I think that will be nice.

After the first midwife spoke to us for about an hour and discussed with us the possible problems and ailments we are all suffering and how to help them, a midwife physiotherapist spoke to us and showed us how we should be standing properly and gave us advice on what exercises we should be doing in preparation for the birth.

I'm looking forward to the proper classes starting next Monday. We paid for the couples class so that James could come to. I'd like to have him understand everything so that when the time comes and I am potentially pulling my hair out, he knows what is happening and what stage we are at.

I'm getting really excited to give birth. More excited that nervous. At the minute I'm not scared about the pain. I just think pregnancy lasts such a long time that when I go into labour it will probably feel like a relief more than something to panic about.

Getting very impatient now!

P.S. My stretchmark from the other day seems to have disappeared!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

First Stretchmark!!

Having thought I would be one of the lucky ones, reaching 30 weeks with none, I discovered the first stretchmark last night. It is to the left of my belly button and is about an inch long. It came from nowhere! I don't mind though, so long as i don't get too many. Just enough to be a little reminder!



I'm on the big countdown now. 68 days left which is just a little over 2 months. The baby's lungs and digestive tract are now fully developed, he is about 17 inches long and weighs about 3lbs.

I had my 30 week midwife appointment today and it all went well. I don't have to go back until 34 weeks. The baby is head down and growing well and all seems to be healthy with us both. I feel so heavy at the minute and find everything i do takes much more effort. I can hardly put on my pants and socks anymore! I can't imagine my bump getting much bigger!

I have been signed off work by the Dr. until the baby arrives. I have 10 weeks to sit and relax and get organised for the baby coming. It is hard thinking of things to do in all the time but I'm spending time knitting a blanket for him, reading and keeping the house tidy. The house has never looked so clean! In a couple of weeks I will have to start washing and ironing all the baby's clothes and blankets and will have to pack my hospital bag. It is recommended that the hospital bag be packed 8 weeks before the baby is due 'just in case'.

Our nursery is teddy bear themed and these are the little teddy items we have bought (with the exception of our moses basket below):





This is our cot organiser with a few teddys for the baby




This is the teddy bear cot mobile



and the nappy organiser (makes the nursery look so much prettier than having nappies lying everywhere!).