enjoy my pregnancy

Our daughter Willow Rose was born on the 29th June at 1.57am weighing 8lbs 5oz. She has a head full of dark hair and she is beautiful :o) She was 9 days overdue but to make up for it, made sure that labour was fairly speedy!

I will post the birth story here very soon… it was a good experience, I cant believe how much I had forgotten about how painful labour is! Photo shows us meeting her for the first time, we had another water birth as we did with Oren :o)

Offically baby is a week late today…

Went to the hospital yesterday for a cervical sweep to try and get things moving naturally. Ended up spending the whole day having babys heartbeat monitored as it was a bit fast and they kept umming and ahhing, taking me on and off the machine. Was quite stressful, in itself not knowing if everything was ok was stressful enough, but Oren was with us as the sweep should have been a quick half hour appointment MAX and we ended up spending about 8 hours there :o( Poor Oren was very well behaved, but understandably very bored.

Anyway, thought something might be kicking off last night as had a few contractions which were more uncomfortable than they had been previously, but went to bed and they stopped.

This morning had my show, or a bit of it at least, contractions started again, and then stopped again. Have had a couple on and off this afternoon but nothing seems to be getting going.

Im booked in to be induced on Thursday, when I will be 12 days overdue. Im really hoping that labour starts naturally before then. Especially as we found out that the hospital we are going to has a brand new midwife-led unit, which we would like to use, but we’ll only be able to if I havent been induced.

So if any of you have any labour vibes you can send me please do… we’ve tried ALL the old wives stuff to help bring it on quicker, but none of it has worked…. really have enjoyed being pregnant, but am ready for the next stage now!

Well, it was at this point when I was pregnant with Oren that I had been in labour for 16 hours. I gave birth to Oren in the evening on my 40th week and 4th day of pregnancy. Although it isnt impossible that the same could yet happen with this baby, Im thinking that its almost certain this pregnancy will last longer than my last one did…

The last bump photo I had taken with Oren was when I was in labour at 40 weeks and 3 days, so last night we took a bump photo for comparision which is attached. The left is when I was pregnanct with Oren, the right is from last night (for some reason the captions havent worked).

Ive had some mega twinges these last few days, period pains, infrequent contractions, baby pushing so far ‘south’ that Im convinced she will pop my waters… but nothing has amounted to anything so far. Baby has started moving around inside me in a most extraordinary way though, she will literally stretch out an arm or leg so far, that it looks like she will pop out of my stomach. It really is something very similar to a scene out of Alien in a way I dont remember with Oren!

Am now just really hoping that I go naturally. I really hadnt anticipated that I might need medical help with my second labour, I had pretty much assumed that because I went naturally with Oren, I just would second time around. Particularly as it was so recent and my body should know what it needs to do this time! Cannot do anything but wait now, at least I know there is only a week of pregnancy left at most, which is both fantastic and sad.

Oh I was really hoping that I wouldnt go overdue this time around! And for some reason there is a niggle in my mind that Im going to go all the way overdue and end up in induction, and this will end up being a July baby! I really hope things start by themselves soon. Im fed up, BashfulC is worrying and neither of us are getting much sleep.

Its amazing how horrible being overdue is. For anyone who hasnt been there I know it must seem like making a big deal out of nothing, but its hard to describe how frustrating it is, and why. Plus, at this stage, every day that you are pregnant it seems to get more difficult, more uncomfortable and the nerves about the labour kick in all the more.

We went for a 2 mile walk on Saturday, to the same place where we walked when I was about 37 weeks pregnant with Oren. We even stopped in the same place and recreated the photo I had taken when I was preg with Oren (see attached picture!) We only thought of doing this as we were walking around and we hadnt intended going that way, if I had thought of it before hand I would have attempted wearing the same clothes! I definitely look better the first time around – obviously being a full time mum and being full term has a profound effect on the appearance, lol!

Anyway, am going to try and potter around and get a few more jobs done around the house to keep my mind off things. Is meant to be nice and sunny this week, so may do some sunbathing if I get a chance too.

Our due date is tomorrow… so I literally feel like a bomb about to go off at any moment. Im really hoping that it will be this weekend, as we have a trusted friend ready to take care of Oren, and the weather is meant to be lovely for next week, which would be perfect for BashfulCs first week of paternity leave.

Had a midwife appointment yesterday, everything still fine although my BP was up a little bit. I get the impression the midwives think this baby will be bigger than Oren was… hopefully not too much bigger though!

I just rested yesterday, which was nice. There is a pile of ironing to do, but I think Im going to leave it, and if Im still here and pregnant at the weekend, Ill do it then! House is looking pretty spotless, a few things need tidying up but BashfulC can help me with that tomorrow.

Every ache and pain has me wondering whether it is the start of something… I feel more obsessed this time around than I did last time, and I thought I would be more relaxed about it! However, there is a very real time limit on things now… the longest that I will be allowed to go overdue is 10 days, so in 11 days if the baby isnt here, Ill certainly be in an induced labour. It all still feels so near yet so far…

Well, here I am, due in 5 days…

BashfulC (and a few other people) were convinced I would give birth the weekend just gone, but as you can see, I havent! My personal feelings are that I will go into labour at some point on my due date, with the baby born the day after. But who really knows lol?!

Had some major twinges on Saturday night, but they turned out to be absolutely nothing other than baby girl having a really good rummage in my belly!

Sleeping is proving difficult at the moment – am having some major heartburn, am still very breathless as this baby is not engaged yet, am all bunged up with hayfever, still have the pelvic pain when laid down, and generally just find it hard to get comfortable at all with a belly like a beach ball! Add into this the trepidation I have about labour – given that I now know what to expect and how difficult it can be – sleeping is not that easy at all these days!

I got a fair amount of food cooked and in the freezer last week, so just have a few bits to finish off this week and Ill be happy. I was reflecting how much more relaxed I am about getting it done this time around – I remember when I was pregnant with Oren I felt it essential to have it all done by the time I was 38 weeks, while this time Im just doing it bit by bit and am still quite calm about finishing bits off this week! I cant help but think its because my subconscious knows that I have the time to do it!

and i am so tired. Physically, totally exhausted. Probably not helped by the fact that Oren has been pretty ill for a week now, and he is waking up through the night and being very hard work during the day too.

I dont want the pregnancy to end, because I will miss the special feeling of being pregnant so much, but I would like her to arrive now and give my body chance to recover. If she decided to come this week, I would be overjoyed, albeit nervous of course. Im still not convinced she will be early though, I think she will be a couple of days late.

The bags are packed, the care for Oren rota has been set up… the only thing we havent done is the bump cast, but hopefully we will do that tonight and then we are all ready to go.

BashfulC wants me to rest as much as possible now, I think he realises how much I am struggling, and probably realised it before I did! Its hard though when there are things that need doing, there are things which I just want to do, and I generally feel like a lazy bum just sitting watching the telly all day (although I know thats what lots of women do on their maternity leave! And realistically, I actually spend most of the day caring for Oren).

Im going to make a couple of meals for the freezer this week, but I am also going to cheat and just buy some frozen stuff to have in there ready to eat, as there is no way I can spend hours on my feet cooking. I am also going to try and get Orens website up to scratch, as there are a couple of old entries i need to import onto there, and its important to get on top of it before the new baby arrives and I have to be updating that one too!

Well Im nearly halfway into being 37 weeks pregnant… so am now classed as full term and could go into labour at any time! I still think she will be late, like her brother was, though BashfulC thinks she will be early.

The pounds seem to have found me this week (although I havent been eating more than usual) as I suddenly gained 3 pounds and am now at 9st 11lbs. So looks like I will be hitting at least that 10st mark before the end of this pregancy after all.

I was having some mild Braxton Hicks at the weekend, although yesterday I got some REALLY painful ones. They didnt turn into anything else though thankfully (I dont feel ready just yet!) With all the excitement of Sunday, I was suddenly worried that BabyB2 wasnt moving, but she started kicking around on Sunday evening, and was very active on Monday, so Ive stopped panicing about that – I was obviously just too distracted on Sunday to notice!

At the party, we took a photo of myself and my friend who is also pregnant – photo attached to entry. She is about 24 weeks, and is adamant there will be no more babies, so it is likely to be the only time we will ever both have bumps at the same time! I really had subscribed to the view (of many strangers who feel compelled to come up to me) that my bump isnt that big, however, after the reaction of people at the weekend and the many jokes about whether it was a beach ball shoved up my dress, I am changing my mind about that! Especially as I think I look ridiculously big in the bump photo!

BashfulC and I tried to spend some time in the garden yesterday and I was getting frustrated at how hard I am finding it to get around now. It is difficult because I dont want to wish this pregnancy away, as it is likely to be the last and I know I am going to miss the bump. But on the other hand, Im so uncomfortable, Im fed up of not being able to lie down without being in huge pain (SPD is much worse when Im laid down), my baby brain is REALLY bad this time around, and generally Im so easily exhasuted.

But there isnt long left now… which is exciting and scary in equal measure. I really dont want to have to go through labour again (!!!), I dont want to be apart from Oren for that long either, but I am looking forward to meeting this little lady and finding out what she looks like and what she is like.

Reached 36 weeks on Saturday, so now have less than a month to my due date! Photo shows comparision of bump between this time and last time.

Weight is about 9st 8lbs, I havent gained any in the last couple of weeks, and Im notably less than I was when pregnant with Oren. I cant remember what my exact weight was in the end, but I know I was over 10 stone. Im not trying to keep my weight down this time around, I just dont have ‘the hunger’ (as BashfulC coined it) which I had when I was pregnant with Oren. I know BashfulC is a little worried, especially as Im still (just) within my MBI range of healthy wieght, even though Im 9 month pregnant! As long as the baby is healthy thats all that really matters though, and she looks and feels good according to all my antenatal appointments.

We finished the nursery for BabyB2 at the weekend, and it is gorgeous and very pink! Will post photos as soon as get chance. We also now have a changing station set up in the downstairs wc, so that will be really handy when she arrives too. It looks like we have spent a fortune on getting ready for her, but we have done it at a really good price. She has all of Orens old furniture (repainted by BashfulC) as it was more appropriate for a newborn, and Oren has new furniture which we got through ebay and netmums – and probably came to less than £200. We once again have gotten most of BabyB2s clothes through ebay, and she has some gorgeous dresses and things which are originally from Next, Monsoon etc, but we have paid a fraction of the original price. I had been saving up our tesco clubcard vouchers to use on deals, but then we saw the ‘double-up’ deal which tesco were doing, so we converted our £80 of saved vouchers into £160 of baby and toddler vouchers and spent that stocking up on nappies, wipes, bibs, and everything else we needed to buy! At the weekend, we also managed to get some beautiful curtains at half price, plus 15% off from B&Q – a bargain as there are 2 windows in her room, and they are quite large. And one of our friends has lent us her daughters old (but in immaculate condition) sleeping bags and swimming wetsuits. Downstairs, our changing table came from ebay (a lovely Mothercare one for £10) and our carseat is also borrowed from our friend. The only thing we have really spent more on than we needed to was our bedding set – we bought co-ordinating cotbumper, quilt, pictures, laundry hamper and nappy stacker – which were probably our biggest spend, but even still, not outrageously expensive. Oh and we have a beautiful HUGE pink plush unicorn in the nursery which BashfulC got from ebay for £10 too – and it is in mint condition.

Im so pleased at how wonderful it all looks and Im finally finding sleep a little easier now that I feel more prepared for her arrival. Bags will be packed this week, as this Saturday I am officiall full-term, and although I expect to go a little overdue with this baby too, I want to be totally prepared :o)

The title of this entry sums up where I am in the pregnancy really. Am only 32 days from my due date, which when written down looks scarily close. Im not wishing it away because I might never get to do this again, and I wish there was a way of recording how it feels when she kicks me and squirms around, because I know how much I miss that afterwards.

My nesting instinct has started to kick in, I did loads of bits around the house and garden yesterday (although not all hugely noticeable things) because I just suddenly got a burst of motivation. I still have loads of things which I want to do, and Im hoping that I get that burst of energy a few times a week between now and the birth so I get them all done!

The downside is that doing all the physical stuff is really knackering and painful – especially given my SPD and the fact that in between getting it all down Im running around after Oren! So I need to learn to pace what Im doing, which can be frustrating – espeically at times like now when I just want to pull out a load of things and shift them around, but Im sat on the sofa instead because my legs feel to knackered, and I have to go out to the shop yet so am saving my energy for that.

What is driving me even more mad is the fact that Im not sleeping well at all. I think its just nerves about the babys imminent arrival, which is wierd because I didnt go through this phase with Oren. Maybe its because I know what Im letting myself in for this time! Im hoping once the house is a bit more sorted that maybe Ill be able to relax and Ill feel we are ready, that the insomnia will pass.

My appetite is also crap at the moment. I am having so many food and drink aversions or just a lack of appetite. Oren and I eat about the same amount as each other at lunch times, which is ridiculous. Ill definitely have put on a lot less weight with this pregnancy than I did my last – Im blaming the hyperemesis, although Im not being sick now thanks to my meds, I think the lack of appetite must be linked to it.

Bump doesnt feel that big at the moment, but again, I think a lot of this is due to the fact that the rest of my isnt rapidly expanding in size either! However, it does feel heavy sometimes, Im very conscious that it is there…

Finally, we saw our friend’s newborn on Saturday. He was 5 days old and sooooo tiny! Its wierd how quickly you forget how little they are when they are born. Oren is an absolute giant in comparision. I think I spent most of the visit in disbelief that we are getting one of those in a few weeks. BashfulC and I had a nice little shopping trip after the visit too, getting the bedding for the nursery and nappies etc, so it looks like our little girl will be as spoilt as Oren was.