23 week update

To be honest, I have no idea where i'm up to with my weeks, but figure i'd just post my latest picture although not currently 23 weeks! I think little Baby Grantham has definitely started making her presence both seen, known and felt! I went to see my Midwife Dillie this week and she said I looked like I was carrying a girl as the bump is quite high up.  She said this tends to be the case because girlies tennnnnd to like to lie traverse and high.  She got rather excited, saying I looked really well and was desperate to measure the bump, however she instead decided we shall wait until next time.  She got the instrument out and we got to hear girly's heart a beating again, which was lucky really because five minutes prior I had scared myself shitless by reading an article about stillborn babies! I don't know why I had worried really, this little madam is a wriggler like me! Rather than the average feeling of once a day at this stage, baby Grantham is moving often throughout the day.  This feeling has definitely changed when she kicks, up til now it has been the classic fluttering, however this week it has started to feel more like a punch! I even grabbed Callum to see if he could feel although I'm not sure if he did.  Health wise, i'm carrying on a ok!

Sciatica + Hip and back pain: The main issues continue to be my sciatica which causes hip and back pain mainly at night, this is still carrying on into the day and sitting at my desk has become a pain! I had the first of my Maternity Risk Assessments at work this week and it was so so helpful, as you would expect from a business run by OTs! My manager basically problem solved any possible problem I might come across, preempting issues before they come, so that we are prepared.  A result of that, is that i'm hoping to get a lumbar support and we've also scheduled in that I take regular walks around the block to ease the pain.

Heartburn/Indigestion: My indigestion has increased over the past month, I find that i'm often hiccupy after eating anything and sometimes refluxy.  I have taken rennies on one occasion, although I think I need to get better at doing this most of the time, it would save me so much trouble!

Exhaustion: Generally I think this tends to have improved, although maybe i'm now just used to functioning like it?! Due to afore mentioned sciatica and the fact my cat likes to wake me up by lying on my side at 4am I have not been getting great amounts of sleep, and I tend to find by 2pm i'm no good to anyone! I've got a lot better at pacing myself, which is mainly because i'm making sure I leave enough time to do all the things I HAVE to do. Of an evening I get in from work and do as much housework as I can until I get tired (usually washing up, put the washing on, put washing out , play with cat), I then have a short break and then do very small bits of  tasks (e.g. put clean clothes away), have another break, then do dinner, another break, then make lunch, then go to bed.  Although this sounds depressing, it allows me to function and complete the things I need to.

Mood: I surprise even myself by how good my mood has been during pregnancy til now (touch wood), especially as it was an unexpected surprise at quite frankly bad timing.  I've had a few hiccups along the way but have generally managed to remain focused and positive.  My mindfulness training has been especially helpful in reducing my initial anxieties I was getting constantly; how will we afford everything, my life is over, i'm shitscared to actually give birth/that my baby will be poorly etc etc.  I've since been refocusing my mind to stay present rather than think ahead, but acknowledging those issues and trying to reduce the impact of those as much as possible through preparation.  Alongside this I have tried to tackle the issues practically, for example rather than moaning about the lack of space, I sat and worked out how we could utilize the space and what we needed to buy in order to do that.  By doing that and simple things like buying a bookcase and chest of drawers, I feel happier with myself that I am making a difference to my life rather than sitting and worrying.  Of course, things are only going to get tougher and i'm sure i'll crack at many points!

Breasts: My boobs continue to grow cupwise, so I need to buy more bras! They have also started to leak which is lovely jubbly and not at all embarassing! So i'm now wearing breast pads pretty near constantly.  It's not all that bad though now i'm used to it!

My sister has decided to throw us a Baby Shower, which, I actually wasn't going to bother with, sounds a bit mental to me, alas she insisted and is organising the whole thing.  Plus, I figure it's a great opportunity to get all the people I love in one place before i'm in hibernation for months years!

21 week update

 At this stage, we have less time left of the pregnancy than the time that has passed! EEEK! I had my first stranger ask if I was pregnant the other day and I have noticed a sudden spurt of the belly this past week.  My new bras have been a God's send, they are two cup sizes bigger than my normal size and the width is still the same. I have found they make heaps of difference to my comfort throughout the day and there is still room for if the boobs continue to grow! The sciatica seems to come and go, although I continuously feel stiff whenever I wake up now.  The peeing through the night and regularity through the day seems to have increased in the last few days; today I had one cup of tea at my Mum's and I actually had to pee 10 times in the space of half an hour! I found it quite hilarious! This is the approach i'm trying to take with most of the "quirks" of pregnancy, because at the end of the day, nothing is worth upsetting yourself about! Pregnancy so far has taught me how I am stronger than I realise, and specifically that I appear to cope best with things when they just land on my doorstep ala surprise.  It seems to force me to find a way to cope, rather than my usual technique of worrying over things that may never happen! I hope I can take this forward post pregnancy, it really does affect my life so positively to my previous approach! Of course, things get tough and things go wrong and I don't cope all the time, but such is life and we all find a way through eventually.  Things are by no means easy or perfect for our little family, neither myself nor Callum are in the place physically, emotionally or financially that we would liked to have been when having children, however, life does not work out the way we want, it's the way we deal with the hand we are given that shapes us as individuals. 

Callum and I have still yet to buy anything for the child, however my Mother has already begun getting carried away! She called me whilst in Toys R Us with her Goddaughter the other day, squealing with delight at x y and z things! These are things she has bought so far...



  



 

 


Names:
Edith
Audrey
Cordelia
Dahlia
Iona
Ionie
Eilidh

Recent buys

Bra from Topshop, £18

Nursing bra Topshop, £20

Nightie, Topshop

For a few weeks now I have been walking around with my breasts basically not sitting in bra space! Thanks to my little girl, I seem to have outgrown the bras that were before too big! I don't really know how I tolerated it so long, possible because pay day was a long way off! Until now! I purchased the above two in sizes much above my usual sizing, in the vague (wishful) hope that they will last me through the rest of this baby growing process! HAH. One of them even has special nursing aspects to it...see...wishful! I'm fully aware I shall probably need to invest in yet more bras in probably a few months/weeks but lets cross this ever recurring theme as we cross it (again).  I have also found my usually very comfortable (in that they are my usual clothing of choice!) pjamas have become too much for my poor growing tum.  Upon touring the shops of dear Brighton, I was quite shocked at how awful that nightie selection was! So disgusting! I'm looking mainly at you Primark! Now, whilst I don't mind disgusting for the labour itself, for obvious reasons! I have to feel comfortable/like my day to day nightwear, seeing as I spend the majority of my time in it!

 I'll let you know how I get on!

Outfit Of The Day

Last night I went out to a few pubs, probably for the first time since I found out I was pregnant! One of Callum's old school friends was in Hove so we first caught up with him and his girlfriend and then went onto our favourite pub to meet another couple.

On Saturday, after getting my hair cut, we went for a wander around the shops and it was largely unsuccessful! This was mainly due to the fact that only TWO Brighton shops stock Maternity wear, and one of those I have already bought most of the stuff they stock!! On our way home, we decided to stop in on the New Look round the corner from our house and I was pleasantly surprised how much stuff I bought (none of which was maternity specifically). 


Here is what I wore for our night out:

Lace Jacket: Next

Lace Top: New Look

Ponte Skirt: ASOS

Bag: Charity shop

Hair cut: The Point.

I'm so glad we stopped in at New Look, because I had really wanted to find something nice to wear out! At first I was skeptical about buying non maternity stuff, however we made sure all the things were extra stretchy, and all of them have plenty more room in them.  

In terms of symptoms, the main things i'm experiencing at the moment are headaches, and really bad sciatica at night time however, generally I feel a lot better so far than I did in the first trimester!!! I've noticed my stamina has decreased quite a lot, I get knackered walking after short distances and if I try to walk at my normal quick pace I end up with pains in my calves and ankles. Otherwise though, I am feeling really positive and healthy and hope it continues for as long as possible. I still have tickets booked for Glastonbury (which will be approximately 3 weeks before EDD), and have yet to decide whether we should still go or not.  I'm going to talk to my midwife about it next appointment, I'd love to and maintain my positive approach, however I think walking will be the main issue at this stage. 

Blue or Pink?!

Ever since we found out we were having a baby, we always knew we wanted, no, NEEDED to know the sex of the baby! I was certain the thing inside me was a girl but obviously we were counting down the days/weeks until the 20 week scan.  Every scan i've been nervous and or convinced it would no longer be in there, and this one was actually more nerve wrecking.  Thankfully, this sonographer was a lot better than the one we had the last two times and actually addressed me directly, talking slowly through everything we were seeing.  She described parts of the scan like looking through the layers of an onion, especially when checking the fluid in the cerebellum and that blood was flowing correctly through the heart.  It took about twenty minutes in total, we musta seen that beauty from every single angle! Thankfully, after a moment of prodding  the little thing opened it's legs, everything about this baby was there that should be and things weren't that shouldn't! This one, is missing a penis..... We're having a little girl!!!!!!!

 I'm actually really excited to be having a little girl!! Before now, I had mainly just been desperate for health and then both of us had been leaning more towards wanting a boy first.  However, on the day of the scan I woke up really verging more towards a girl! So now, Callum is going to be completely outnumbered, surrounded by three girls, we'll need a second bathroom, Inara already hogs it enough!