32+6wk update...

Photo of Ellabump at 32+6weeks....33weeks tomorrow, only 7 to go! Feeling mahoosive, especially after Kenny's comment last night..."omg why do you look so pregnant today!?" Possibly because I am?! Thought I'd told him...lol.

Hospital bag finished (99% anyway). Baby has just about everything we need ready, apart from cot and moses basket but they're at Kenny's mum and sisters' houses. And despite being mostly ready...I still feel disorganised!

Can't believe it's Xmas in less than a week and then new year. Been signed off work for 2 and a bit weeks until xmas, will be back in for 3 days between Xmas and New Year. Off for new year and then back to work for a month until 31st Jan when I finish up! Hoping I may be able to take some holidays at end of Jan to start maternity leave early, but we'll see how awkward they are about it.

Met up with 3 other Feb mums-to-be yesterday and it was lovely. 2 were from Edinburgh and one from Wishaw. It was so nice meeting people as I've been so bored and fed up in the house! We decided to meet again after xmas so I'm looking forward to that :) Sadly a couple of the girls couldn't make it, one of which because she's just had her twins already!! Very exciting and happy news, they're doing really well. Hope they get stronger really quick so they can make it home as soon in the new year as possible.

I have been doing baby washing, eeeek so cute. I have already done two loads of sleepsuits/socks/vests etc and still got a massive pile of sheets/blankets/clothes to do! I can't believe how much stuff we've been bought and given, we're so lucky. And baby washing looks so so sweet hanging on the clothes horse...

Anyway...I need food...But what's new there, I never stop! :D

28 weeks and 4 days

 Well it's been ages since I've updated...been neglecting my blog duties! After a nudge from Nan...here we are!

Now am 28 weeks and 4 days.

What's happened recently?

Had a bit of a worry when baby hadn't kicked or moved about for a day or so, so I went into the hospital and got a scan to check all was ok. The little blighter decided to kick away once I was getting the scan done though! So all was ok! She was practising breathing and gave us a smile whilst on-screen...was lovely :) the lady was so nice too.

Had my 28weeks midwife appointment, all seems to be measuring spot on, blood was taken, all seems fine. Baby is currently lying with her feet right at my ribs...but I knew that anyway. Jesus it's sore when she gets her wriggle on and starts kicking again and again. I have put on about a stone since the start of the pregnancy, which is apparently fine. Average weight gained is apparently 2stone over the whole pregnancy and 2thirds of the way through I've only done half of that.

No stretchmarks yet...been using my cream but am seriously expecting some to start appearing soon. My belly button has gone all weird and totally flat, half expecting that to pop out some time soon too...ewwww Outie belly button! YUCK! Supposedly if it does it'll pop back in though thankfully.

Had an antenatal class (missed the first one when I was off work sick), so this one was about being in the hospital and labour. We discussed pain relief, different types of births, what to take to hospital etc etc. Was a good laugh and the next one is for breastfeeding. Hopefully getting a space on the first one that I missed after xmas. I was all clued up on everything already though....I don't want an epidural unless I am really struggling, I really don't want to be bed-ridden. I'd like to be in the birth centre rather than the actual hospital, and I'd like to be in the birth pool if possible. But obviously I'm totally going with the flow when it happens, I have no idea how I'll cope etc so nothing is out of the question. I've pretty much finished packing my hospital bag too, only one or two more things to put in. Would rather be prepared early than caught off-guard!

Had a week signed off work as the doctor thought I was suffering with anxiety. Was having stomach pains after eating, breathlessness, heart palpitations and dizziness. Seem to be better now, but dizziness comes and goes still. Blood pressure, blood sugar and iron levels all fine so no idea why the dizziness happens. Was also having a few bad days unable to walk properly as my pelvis became really painful and kept grinding and cracking. Seems to have eased up now (except for first thing in morning), but have physio on Monday. Went back to work for 3 days and now I'm off for 2 weeks holidays. Thank god. Needed the rest.

Anyway, latest bump picture....its been AGES since the last one...feel a LOT bigger than the picture shows. Bending down, turning over in bed and getting up from lying down seems to be a struggle now! Will have to get kenny to help with socks/shoes/toenails etc soon! hahahaha he'll love that.

Also, latest baby purchase... so so so cute and so cheap from ebay!!

Right, now I better go start cooking my lovely lasagne for dinner. Hope it's good as I need to save some for our dinner tomorrow as well as my dinner tonight!

Ciao for now!

Latest baby purchase:

Latest Bump picture at 22+5 wks:

Also managed to finally get a cheap winter coat from Matalan. Not maternity one as they seem hardto come by but one that only does up at the chest so bump will have room to grow! Also finally indulged in some bigger bras, could probably still go a bigger size! Jesus! And got some new pants and maternity leggings. A productive shopping weekend.

Also got my free 2nd bounty pack with samples and magazines in, my free Emma's Diary pack with samples and vouchers in, a free changing bag and mat from boots. I have already had a free huggies starter kit with nappies, hat and wipes in from Asda. And I've had a free bottle, got another 2 on the way. A free cuddly cow, a free cuddly polar bear on the way. And I've yet to collect a free pack of nappies from Tesco and a mum and baby bundle from sainsburys which includes nappies etc....SO MANY FREEBIES! :)

Heartburn is back again with a vengeance. I have a bottle of aniseed gaviscon liquid and it's vile.

Also had flu jab on Friday at my 22wk GP and nurse appt. They ever so kindly fretted over whether the one I had injected was safe for pregnant ladies AFTER they'd done it. THANKS! Heard baby's heartbeat, measured my bump and all seems well. May have a UTI so sample has been sent off and need to remember to call for results this week incase I need antibiotics.

Have been selling stuff on ebay too, very happy that I'm recouping some of the money I've spent on bloody maternity stuff. It's so damn expensive!!

Right, now to go for my swig of gaviscon and have some chocolate and milk. It might help heartburn, if not, I want chocolate and milk anyway, it's a good enough excuse.

Well we swapped our Graco travel system for a smaller, lightweight pram the Quinny Zapp Xtra, as my back and hips are sore and weak, there's no way I'd have been able to carry the Graco one up and down the stairs with bags and baby too...so it just made sense. It also made sense as Kenny's sister had given us a practically brand new Graco car seat and base so we can use that now as the Graco travel system came with one so the free one was going to waste! And they don't sell on very well unfortunately. I am so exciting about "pimping my pram" as there's places that made custom footmuffs and accessories for the Quinny Zapp Xtra. Thinking black footmuff with a funky purple skull ;) lol Here it is :)

And here's my latest little purchases for baby :) couldn't resist the tigger stuff!

Trying to get a video of baby kicking as I can see my belly popping right up, but she's camera shy....

Scan shows its a baby girl!!!

Amazing seeing babys heart, brain, kidneys etc in detail. She was so wriggly! She even gave us a big thumbs up and we saw her suckling, her tiny little mouth was opening and closing! Kenny laughed as she's got my little stubby button nose (haven't all babies?) But jokes on him, at least she hasn't got his beak! Sonographer laughed and said dads always get blamed for noses!

Half way tomorrow

Whilst I remember thought I'd do a halfway post since I'm 20wks tomorrow! Time flies eh? Only 3 days til the scan too, I'm so excited, just really hoping baby doesn't have its legs crossed and leave us disappointed! Here is a bump timeline up to today. Seems to have popped out massively over the last few days. Kenny went away for one night for work and came home to a very round girlfriend! The kicks are getting so strong now! Last night I almost dropped the laptop as it kicked so hard it hurt!

Spare room? Where are you?

So much stuff bought for us and given to us...can't move in the spare room.
Even got 2 car seats and 2 sterilisers...need to sell the spares for Kenny's sister!
On an actual baby note...the movements are so strong!! Proper kicks and thumps more and more everyday. Kenny could feel them last night. I could even see my bump starting to move whilst baby was wriggling. The really strong ones make me laugh, I looked a bit Wierd on the bus coming home today lol.

Kicks!

Over the last week or so I've noticed little movements of baby, which has been amazing. But 2 nights ago I was in bed and suddenly baby was kicking/pushing so hard that it was quite uncomfortable...so i put my hand on my tummy. That's when I felt a big lump sticking out!! I got kenny to feel but a few seconds later baby moved and the lump disappeared. That made everything feel so very real...kenny reminded me that there's actually a little person in there! :) I can't believe i've felt such strong movements, even on the outside of my belly already, only 17 weeks and 1 day! Can't stop smiling at the thought of our little bambino.

P.s. 22 days til the scan and hopefully finding out boy or girl!!

Nesting

I keep going through these..."omg I have to tody and sort and cook and clean" stages. Then I go through a "omg I really can't be bothered moving off this sofa all day" stage. Think nesting may be setting in.

Yesterday made lovely camembert and spinach pasta with pesto bread for tea, made a HUGE pot of sweet potato and butternut squash soup which I've just finished blending and put in the fridge (need to freeze some). And now I've just put together a beef and ale stew in the slow cooker for tonight. However it looks like there'll be tons, so some of that will be frozen too!! Need to make some dumplings later, so excited, not had dumplings in years. Hope they turn out ok.

Now the kitchen is smelling amazing with the stew bubbling away and it's all cleaned and preened, I need to go clean and preen myself. I love bank holiday mondays. I could totally deal with looking after baby, doing a little cooking and cleaning between naps and feeding and nappy changing...wish stay at home mum was an option for me. And that's something I never thought i'd say. We'll have to see what happens further down the line. Maybe we'll win the lottery?

Update....

Not much to update, getting a right bump on the go now, but I'm still convinced it's just bloating and too much food! HOwever, it's getting solid, and not disappearing overnight...:D

Seems there's something in the water, lots of people are pregnant just now. It always happens in waves eh?

Treated myself to some nice expensive face wash and shower gel today...not like I'll be doing that forever! And haven't done it in a long time...Plus got myself some red henna hair dye as it's safe to use in pregnancy. Fingers crossed it looks ok, hopefully do it this weekend. Pics to follow as long as it doesn't come out orange! Henna can be a bit random....!!

Got my 16 wk midwide appointment on Sept 1st in the afternoon. Not sure what happens at that appointment? However I will be asking about antenatal classes. There's no info ANYWHERE online, and you're never given info about them. And apparently they book up quick and I don't want to have to pay £200 for NCT classes.

Also will be bringing up my back pains. I've always had dodgy hips/back and people keep freaking me out saying they ended up unable to walk and on crutches due to SPD...problems with their pelvis and hips etc. And mine have been playing up. I'm a little worried about that. My back seems fine now but any sudden movements or large strides and it pops and can be agony for days... :( hope there's no seriousness behind it.

20 wk scan on 22nd Sept....CAN'T WAIT! less than 4 weeks til we find out if it's a buby boy or girl :)

Ate a lovely meal of haggis, neeps and tatties tonight, and there's not even room for a mini milk lolly! That's how stuffed I am. :D happy!

Baby shopping

My mum and Douglas came to visit for the weekend and it was lovely. Besides the amazing roast dinner Douglas cooked for us, the baby shopping made the weekend even mre brilliant.

We ended up in MOthercare and Babies R Us. Ended up getting a travel system with all the accessories and an adorable electronic rocking chair.

Set them up last night which took a lot of time and 4 people to manage it!! But it was good fun and now I'm hopeing the 6 months flies by so I can actually use them!! Looks how cute this chair is.... :D thanks mum and Douglas. xxxxxxx

SCAN!!!!

Baby was sleeping and decided to wake up half way through the scan to have a big stretch and play with it's feet!! So cute. MAde it all so very real and exciting. Can't believe my first third of the pregnancy is finished. Crazy.

The drinking a pink of water an hour before the scan is not pleasant. Struggling to even look at water without running to the loo!! lol. But watching the screen knowing that little baby wriggling around is in my belly...was bizarre but so lovely.

Can't get over how clear the pictures are, could even see it's fingers in one of the pics.

The woman scanned other parts of the baby to see it's brain, heart, bladder and stomach (obv didn't get pics of those). BUt amazing to think it has everything already.

Can't wait for the next scan in 7 weeks to find out if it's a boy or girl.

Now everyone knows, so wierd phoning your nan and grandad to tell them they'll be great grandparents for the first time!! SO nice though, everyone's been lovely.

Happy times :) now just wish this persistent headache would go!!

:)

12 weeks today!

Well well, we've reached 12 weeks already!

Scan on Wednesday!!! Will post pics after!

Cravings...

This weekend I really wanted a big macdonalds so we took a walk to maccy d's for a guilty indulgence in a burger and chips (a massive one too!) and a coke and a milkshake. It was loooooovely.

Have to say I was disappointed i had to have coke and not pepsi, I have been craving pepsi like crazy the past week. FInally got some last night. I never was bothered about fizzy juice before, and now pepsi is constantly on my mind!! So wierd.

Also - refreshers ice lollies. Have just eaten one, and now want another. I am going to be the size of a damn house!! (And we also discovered scottish tablet ice cream. So unhealthy but so damn tasty.) Think I can justify it though as I've had healthy dinners the past 2 nights :) Eating cabbage surely justifies macdonalds, pepsi and ice cream?

We also did lots of walking in the sun and swimming this weekend, it was so nice to be active again after feeling so rubbish for weeks. I feel great. Got a couple of days off this week too so will be going swimming again and hopefully getting a nice facial too as my skin is breaking out like mad.

Anyway, off to find another ice lolly....

Heartbeat recording!

This heartbeat monitor has made me so happy. A lot of people wont believe you can hear a heartbeat at 11 weeks however, there is no denying what I'm hearing is a fast baby heartbeat. I have recorded it and attempting to upload it here just now if I can fiigure out how....but the recording quality is rubbish and it IS just a home use ultrasound thing, so the quality isn't brilliant. (It seems to be strongest from 23 seconds onwards on the recording) But if you hear it in person, it's SO clear and loud! It was clearer just now then when I did it for the first time earlier. Possibly because I'm bursting on a pee and having a full bladder helps. Or possibly just because baby decided to move, I kept getting deafened by him/her as well, must be moving around and bashing about or something as I kept getting sudden bangs which almost burst your eardrums in the headphones!

Anyway, listen away and be amazed, there's a baby, a real baby! This is making me even more excited for the scan a week on Wednesday.

Heartbeat monitor

Quick post to say I finally got my home use heartbeat monitor. Just tried it and found the baby heartbeat. Sounded like a train, so fast! Kenny had a listen too. So amazing. I'll try again later and see if I can record it as it comes with a cable to record it. If I can I'll post it on here! Also knackered now, today we went swimming, then for lunch then a massive walk around leith. So warm outside, it's lovely. Getting such a belly on me now, convinced I'm just getting fat, I'm definite its not a baby bump. Lol. And its only a week and 4 days til the scan, I can't wait :)

Update overdue!

A summary of what's happened since the last post:

- Family visit
- First Midwife appointment
- More days off sick!
- And now...a cold!

Well I've been sick as a dog! People keep telling me it's normal to feel like crap but this is unreal! Had Thurs/Fri off work as I think I was coming down with something, had a sore throat etc and was KNACKERED and keep going dizzy. I'm now stuck with a damn cold. However, the sickness seems to be passing now and I'm managing to eat meals again - YIPEEEE. So i'm feeling much better bar the snotty blocked nose. The house has gone to crap, it's a mess as I've just not had the energy to clean, but I have no urgency to get the house spic and span, thankfully. Can do it this weekend...maybe!

Had my midwife appointment, got the student widwife and my own midwife and they were both lovely. Just standard blood tests and medical history etc etc...so all seems fine so far. Just wish there was some kind of check they could do now to see everything is ok! Less than 3 weeks til the scan which I can't wait for. Can't believe 10 weeks has gone already! Soon everyone will know!

Had my mum, stepdad and 3 brothers visit  couple of weekends ago which was so nice to have the whole family together for the first time in AGES. Sadly, mum and nathan ended up with stomach bugs! I think I'm jinxed, everyone gets ill when they visit me...but it was so nice to see everyone and me and mum had a few laughs :)

I seem to be getting quite a belly on me now, trousers are tight and belly bulging, however, that might be the sudden influx of food since I can eat again!! Pepperoni pizza tonight, bolognese at lunch, chocolate, crisps, fruit juice, oranges, apples, yoghurts...yeah certainly not starving now! I'm sure people will start noticing soon!

Just realised it's well over a month since we found out and since I stopped smoking...brilliant :D

Christine's friend Amanda has donated a TON of baby clothes and Kenny's sister is giving us a moses basket, car seat and cot, and mum's getting us a pram...it's all seeming so real now! I can't wait til a few months pass and I can start planning things a bit more. And of course find out boy or girl......as much as everyone keeps telling me not to find out, I always said I would...

Oh I bought an ultrasound doppler (heartbeat monitor), apparently most people can't hear baby's heartbeat by themself until at least 12 weeks or even later however, I'll give it bash when it arrives hopefully at the weekend. Some people on a forum have said they managed at 10 weeks. It's like a really basic ultrasound scan but just noise, have to use the gross cold gel though....ewwww. And need to drink lots of water first too. Will update if I find anything!!

Over and out, bit of a rubbish update as it's so overdue but am going to eat some fruit-tella now :D

Horrible Horrible day

I suppose this blog should include good days as well as bad days. Crazy to think morning sickness pretty much kicked in immediately for me. I've never actually been sick yet, but there's a constant nausea. My appetite has gone (so unusual for me!) and I'm so damn exhausted all the time.

Today was pretty bad after the pavements and roads being drilled up all night outside my flat last night, I had the worst sleep. Followed by some pretty awful nights sleep previous to that. Drilling still going too so tonight could be worse!!

Got sent home from work today after a very bad dizzy spell, blind spots and flashing lights in my eyes. Could not understand what was going on or even string a sentence together. Thankfully Kenny came and got me and took me to the doctors. Good thing too as on the way my arm and face went totally numb. I burst into tears thinking I was having a stroke! Crazy.

The doctor thinks a mix of hormones, lack of food and sleep has contributed to a very strange and quick migraine. Thankfully it's passed. I also got prescribed anti-sickness tablets as I feelso nauseous all the time it's put me off my food. And my tests showed I'm ever so slightly starved of nutrition. Thankfully i've been taking folic acid and vitamins so that will ahve helped at least.

So, I got a 50 min nap before being woken up by more drilling and then managed to gather enough energy to do a shop. Got lots of healthy little cereal bars/raisins/fruit snacks to have on hand at all times. And I managed a bowl of fresh tomato soup, some bread and a pudding. Feel tons better for it.

Now....off to pee for the 298479847th time today. Joy! :o)

Test Time! This is just the beginning....

Well yesterday I took a test and although it said to wait 2 minutes...it changed to a definite positive within less than a second...so there we go. Terrified, excited, disbelief, worry, extreme happiness....everything filled my head at once.

Kenny wondered why I even wasted money on a test, apparently he knew for sure at least the day before I even took it! The symptoms were kind of obvious all arriving at once, but you don't seem to believe it until you've seen that proof!

We're shocked to say the least, it had been discussed but not this soon!! But it's happening now, and I suppose with the jobs, the flat, the relationship, everything is as good as it would ever be!

Told my mum (you're gonna be a granny!!) and it's the nicest feeling in the world having your mum support you in something like this. Douglas sent me the nicest text saying he was so proud of me. My friends Christine and Lucy have been great and so supportive. We visited Kenny's parents today too and they were thrilled. So it seems support from every direction possible. A handful of friends and family know, but I will wait until I've visited the doctors and everything before I spread the news. Jesus I wish I was 12 weeks already!

Need to register with a doctor and get an appointment on Monday, will be updating this as more happens! And eventually when there's things to see...I'll post pics too.